Coding with AI: I want a table saw, not a CNC router
ai programming
On woodworking
I have a table saw in my garage. I can make some decent-looking decent-quality furniture with it. (And if I’m not careful, I can lose some fingers)
I don’t have a CNC router. Why not?
- They’re big, heavy, and expensive.
- They require a lot of preparation, and it’s not done in the garage.
- They can’t make the projects I want to build.
- It’s just not fun for me.
I must admit - CNC routers are very cool, very valuable, and with them, certain kinds of manufacturing are made possible.
I’m not a professional woodworker, but I know that a lot of good things cannot be made with a CNC router. The pros choose the right tool for the job.
On AI code
It’s the same story with my personal relationship with AI code.
I want to make decent-looking decent-quality software. (And I accept that I may not always be right.)
I don’t want to wait 20 minutes for agentic AI to generate a full project. Why not?
- It’s expensive, in more ways than one.
- There’s a burden of prompt creation and other guidance, which is time not building.
- For the projects I want to build, the output is not good.
- It’s just not fun for me.
Deep agentic AI workflows are kind of cool, kind of valuable, and with them, a lot of new people can build software - which is a good thing!
However –
I am a professional software engineer. I will choose the right tool for the job.
Right now, this means employing AI autocomplete, and avoiding deep agentic workflows.
Perhaps a change is right around the corner, but I suspect deep agentic AI code will always be a CNC router, and not a table saw.
What’s the point of this?
This is me trying to convince myself (and maybe you) that it’s ok to avoid a bandwagon. You’re a professional, and you have the responsibility to choose the right tool. If you focus on building unique and quality projects, your job is not about to be stolen by a robot.
Will this post age like milk? Time will tell.