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gklitt | 8 months ago

> I agree, I feel like the authors are underestimating the effect the new AI is already having on the concept of local software crafting

Coauthor here -- did you catch our section on AI? [1]

We emphatically agree with you that AI is already enabling new kinds of local software crafting. That's one reason we are excited about doing this work now!

At the same time, AI code generation doesn't solve the structural problems -- our whole software world was built assuming people can't code! We think things will really take off once we reorient the OS around personal tools, not prefabricated apps. That's what the rest of the essay is about.

[1] https://www.inkandswitch.com/essay/malleable-software/#ai-as...

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hathawsh|8 months ago

Yes, but I think we have a somewhat different idea about the market forces. My impression from your essay is that you believe app developers will add APIs that enable personal tools, and only then will local software crafting take off.

My belief is that it is happening already: local software crafting is happening now, before the tools are ready. People aren't going to wait for good APIs to exist; people will MacGyver things together. They'll scrape screens (sometimes with OCR), run emulated devices in the cloud, and call APIs incorrectly and abusively until they get what they need. They won't ask for permission.

A lot of software developers may transition from building to cleaning up knots.