Ask HN: AI writes better code than me. How to keep my identity?

Writing code is only one part of software engineering. Making good engineering decisions is the other, and LLMs aren't optimal at that...yet.

How long have you been working in this field? I ask as if you have numerous years you already know your worth and value irrespective of AI or any other system. If you are still questioning this it indicates to me that you are still in the process of finding yourself and are in the same boat many other folks are in - confronting the existencial crisis of identity as it pertains to work. I suggest do what is necessary to stay employed then on your own time write code by hand for personal or side projects. Be sure to not use AI and learn deployment, devops and infrastructure as much as is needed to be knowledgeable and able to speak to the technology. Then add that to your resume. Keep grinding.

The key to current AI-era software, IMO, is creating a new application and definition of how to maintain the product, which means how much of the code can be understood in terms of business logic and the real-world problem. They have already achieved code quality enough, they are going to absrub in development life style like people move from Sublime Text to VS Code, too, I think.

Use AI to tackle larger projects and complex problems, that’s how you’ll get your competitive edge back. There have to be freelance projects beyond CRUD.

The shift of a craftsman from making products by hand to designing machines that make products is a transition from manual maker to system architect. It happened before.

Maybe you (we) can create your identity by moving your focus toward the infrastructure domain, high-level/software design/system design, while also having some kind of domain expertise. That can obviously change over time, but every time I change company or project, I acquire a different kind of domain knowledge. I’ve worked in areas like telecommunications, travel, etc., and many ideas or design choices come from understanding the field and the users who operate within it. Btw, I feel your pain and that feeling that you’ve wasted time, but things change, and maybe some of the things you currently think were useless to study could become useful later, maybe in an interview or in other situations. A good skill is being able to adapt. I’m saying this as if it were easy, but I’m probably the worst at it. Still, at least I try, knowing that it’s a good way to get the best out of changes.

Why is your identity tied to writing code ? That reads a bit weird to me at least.

You're being paid to solve business problems, not to write code. Now you can do it without writing code.

Maybe try to form a different identity ? I wouldn't ever define my identity (not before AI) as someone who writes code.

> To write the kind of code AI generates, I used to have to keep documentation open on a second monitor, think deeply, and constantly Google better approaches.

This is a double edged sword. Yes, LLMs have given me some really interesting solutions that are advanced enough that I need to really work to follow them. But on the other hand, once I do so, I often find an architectural flaw that is driving the complexity. Once I prompt it to fix that flaw, the code gets simpler, easier to read and understand, and easier to maintain.

I'm starting to treat advanced solutions as a code smell - when I see something that pushes my limits, that means the AI missed a simple solution.

Sounds like you are already on the "right" path?

Step 1 is "surrendering" to AI-driven coding.

Beyond that, the new competitive edge for developers everywhere is mastering AI tooling for maximum productivity and velocity.

Can a non-technical person get the same result as you? If no then you're still adding value there.

> When AI writes better code than I do, how am I supposed to maintain my motivation and identity?

I'm just going to be honest, this is cope. Your self-doubt is correct here and you should listen to it.

This is like a weaver asking how to maintain their identity in light of machines doing what they could do faster and cheaper. The honest answer is to find something else because at best you're delaying the inevitable.

I've spoken in length in other comments about how AI has taken a lot from my own identity so I understand and genuinely sympathise with how you're feeling, but you need understand what's coming and start planning – especially if you have dependants.

The only good news here is that we'll probably only have to worry about getting by for a decade max.

> The real problem is that AI is now too good.

We must live in two different worlds, it must be like that

> When AI writes better code than I do

Have you ever asked yourself maybe you’re not that good and you can still learn and improve and be relevant?

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>How to keep my identity?

It is simple. Use AI to write better code than what AI could have written own its own. The delta is your identity.

Old geezer here. Started programming in the early 1980s, did it professionally for ~20 years, then transitioned into what today would be called SRE and cyber security, worked in it for ~20 years more, then retired -- and today, I do my own coding, SREing and cyber securing as a kind of hobby.

I feel your pain -- there's no doubt the current crop of LLMs is better than me in all these domains. I would be in real trouble, both in terms of gainful employment and identity, if I still depended for these just on my own personal skills.

In terms of gainful employment, I can't really help you -- but becoming a niche domain expert like other posters suggested sounds good. Also, for those things I do, me+AI is still significantly better than AI alone, so what I seem to be slowly turning into is a kind of 'manager-centaur/shepherd' where I define the problem/goal and then ride close herd on top of the AI to help guide it and correct its mistakes and sub-optimal decisions. But as you noticed, with the constant model evolution this is becoming unnecessary, and like niche domain expertise, I don't think will last long. What I would try and do if I was in your situation today, is to try and become financially secure as quickly as possible. But I'm not sure that it would be possible, at least in my case.

Re: identity, what I did starting about 10 years before I retired, was to change areas. In my case it was not for gainful employ since I was already financially secure, but to keep myself intellectually active and motivated. For me the new area was philosophy (yes, really, and I'm so glad I did) and kind of fits with the AI era since the ever-growing problems of AI consciousness and how to integrate it with society are well handled by it (Philosophy of Mind and Philosophical Ethics/Politics, respectively). Philosophically, it's a wonderful time to be alive.

I apologize if I can't offer you any real, ready-to-deploy solutions, but I hope my report can at least help illuminate and inspire you on finding your own path. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

The AI game amplifies programmings biggest problem: maturity.

Simply put there are developers that can write original solutions to challenging problems but most people employed to write software are paid the same and cannot write original solutions. There is a tremendous amount of emotional insecurity once you just barely scratch the surface of employment.

AI substantially amplifies this divide. The people who can write software are in a position to more readily identify the garbage produced by the pretenders using AI while the pretenders become more reliant on AI to produce anti-patterns they cannot recognize.

Case in point I saw one of these this morning: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49488730

My personal opinion is that AI should replace many developers because many of the people employed to write software should never have been there in the first place. Even when the output of that AI is slop is it really any worse than the human slop from people too terrified to make original decisions?

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The way through is changing how you think of yourself, not necessarily what you do. At some point in your personal history, you got very good at crawling. Now you're not a crawler, walker or even driver. They're just things you do when needed.

The shift is in how you describe yourself. "I am a coder" places your identity in a function that AI is now performing. Grief, shame, embarrassment, fear comes along with that. "I work as a coder" or "I write code" places it in a behaviour which is something you consciously practice, adapt, change.

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> Top-tier developers might still outperform AI

That's never been true. It's like saying they are outrunning cars.

Where your expertise is key is when you call out the mistakes it AI and ensuring you are not enabling slop.

In the process, you get to review your stuff you memorized and possibly learning something. Don't focus on "losing competitive edge", but instead bringing your taste to the project and your years of expertise so that the stuff written is coherent and lasting.