Four: Fear not the AI doomsday—artificial intelligence can’t actually write code.

Title: The Illusion of AI Mastery: A Cautionary Tale from the Coding Trenches

In recent discussions surrounding artificial intelligence, the notion of an impending AI Apocalypse often comes up. However, if my recent experience is any indication, there’s no need to panic just yet—especially when it comes to coding.

Over the past week, I embarked on an adventure involving two prominent AI tools, ChatGPT and CLAUDE, driven by the optimism of leveraging AI to expedite a graphics project for Substack. Initially, my plan was to create a straightforward presentation using PowerPoint. But in a moment of inspiration—or perhaps folly—I decided to switch gears and see how AI could accelerate the coding process instead.

What I thought would be a few hours of work quickly spiraled into an ongoing saga. My collaboration with Claude began with high hopes of efficiently generating professional graphics. Instead, it turned into an exhausting game of whack-a-mole. Each time we managed to address one issue, a myriad of new problems would emerge, leaving me feeling both frustrated and amused. The experience was akin to navigating a coding boot camp for the first time—chaotic and full of surprises.

After several days marked by trial and error, I finally surrendered to the traditional route and crafted an impressive PowerPoint presentation in just over three hours—far more efficient than my AI-assisted endeavor.

This experience led me to realize that AI, while promising, is still on par with the skills of a novice coder. Yes, these technologies are designed to learn and improve through methods like Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), and there’s hope for advancements in automated coding in the future thanks to the input of skilled developers. However, for the moment, concerns about AI rivaling human intelligence in coding seem to be exaggerated.

Instead of succumbing to existential dread regarding AI’s capabilities, perhaps it’s time for a more relaxed approach. Pour yourself a glass of Scotch, take a couple of aspirin, and revisit the topic in the morning—cannabis might also serve as a helpful remedy!

In the end, while AI can be a powerful tool, it’s essential to keep our expectations grounded and recognize that the path to true coding proficiency may still lie firmly in the hands of humans for the foreseeable future.