3 ms·

Do you disagree that your work is pointless?

entropy47 2mo ago
I certainly do. As usual the revolution is weeks away, but I continue to produce work better, faster and more reliably than my colleagues who have outsourced their brains to Claude. You can tell me I'm not gonna make it and the last 5% is going to topple on the next model release, but the work I enjoy doesn't have precedents and it seems the plagiarism machine is quite bad at that specific flavour of knowledge work.
- uncivilized 2mo ago
  That has nothing to do with your work being pointless or not (it is), but more you showcasing your insecurity of having to be smarter than your peers because they use LLMs.
  - entropy47 2mo ago
    Oh, I hadn't even considered the interpretation here where you're saying knowledge work is pointless and always has been. I'm not even going to engage with that one because I see the value and real world impact of my work every single week. I don't think I'm smarter than my colleagues who use LLMs, for what it's worth. I just have the advantage of continuing to think, try, improve etc.
    - uncivilized 2mo ago
      Sure. Feel free to share what positive real world impact your work is having.
      - therealdrag0 2mo ago
        “Positive” is not required to avoid “pointlessness”. If you think work is pointless, you’re as helpless to argue with as a depressed suicidal. If you want you can easily argue nihilism and everything being pointless. But really?
        uncivilized 2mo ago
        OP mentioned real world impact, not me. Are you saying negative real world impact is acceptable?
- Nextgrid 2mo ago
  > I continue to produce work better, faster and more reliably than my colleagues who have outsourced their brains to Claude. It matters little if your employer does not recognize/value that? Given the quality of most software nowadays, the output of Claude driven by a monkey appears to be perfectly acceptable for a lot of companies. (yes, there's likely a big reckoning coming where all the slop and tech debt suddenly catches up with them, but that could be a decade off and you still need to pay rent in the meantime)
  - entropy47 2mo ago
    My employer pushes everybody heavily towards AI, but unsurprisingly that stops the moment the work is late or bad in a way that catches their management chain's attention. I'm not doing work in the way they tell me to but the results are good enough that my performance reviews / job security is fine. For now!
burnte 2mo ago
Absolutely. Across the board I reject that. Knowledge work is still work, knowledge is power. Those who can use knowledge are powerful. For over a decade I've helped transform healthcare businesses into stable, profitable companies that can grow and help more providers help more patients. My knowledge has helped 6 different companies grow and help people. In 6 months my coworkers and I took a company that was losing $15m a year and brought it to break even, and then on to profitable sales of the three different business units into larger companies those units have blossomed with. I cut $2m in spending but improved performance and reliability because I came in with 20 years of knowledge and experience.
johnnyanmac 2mo ago
I make games, so I was never under the illusion that I was saving the world. But at the same time, art moves you, inspires you, reflects your culture, and overall has its own invisible tug on society. You can definitely argue my work isn't essential. I'd never say my work is pointless.
therealdrag0 2mo ago
My work produces results that customers like. Basically not pointless by definition.

I certainly do. As usual the revolution is weeks away, but I continue to produce work better, faster and more reliably than my colleagues who have outsourced their brains to Claude. You can tell me I'm not gonna make it and the last 5% is going to topple on the next model release, but the work I enjoy doesn't have precedents and it seems the plagiarism machine is quite bad at that specific flavour of knowledge work.

uncivilized 2mo ago
That has nothing to do with your work being pointless or not (it is), but more you showcasing your insecurity of having to be smarter than your peers because they use LLMs.
- entropy47 2mo ago
  Oh, I hadn't even considered the interpretation here where you're saying knowledge work is pointless and always has been. I'm not even going to engage with that one because I see the value and real world impact of my work every single week. I don't think I'm smarter than my colleagues who use LLMs, for what it's worth. I just have the advantage of continuing to think, try, improve etc.
  - uncivilized 2mo ago
    Sure. Feel free to share what positive real world impact your work is having.
    - therealdrag0 2mo ago
      “Positive” is not required to avoid “pointlessness”. If you think work is pointless, you’re as helpless to argue with as a depressed suicidal. If you want you can easily argue nihilism and everything being pointless. But really?
      - uncivilized 2mo ago
        OP mentioned real world impact, not me. Are you saying negative real world impact is acceptable?
Nextgrid 2mo ago
> I continue to produce work better, faster and more reliably than my colleagues who have outsourced their brains to Claude. It matters little if your employer does not recognize/value that? Given the quality of most software nowadays, the output of Claude driven by a monkey appears to be perfectly acceptable for a lot of companies. (yes, there's likely a big reckoning coming where all the slop and tech debt suddenly catches up with them, but that could be a decade off and you still need to pay rent in the meantime)
- entropy47 2mo ago
  My employer pushes everybody heavily towards AI, but unsurprisingly that stops the moment the work is late or bad in a way that catches their management chain's attention. I'm not doing work in the way they tell me to but the results are good enough that my performance reviews / job security is fine. For now!

burnte 2mo ago

Absolutely. Across the board I reject that. Knowledge work is still work, knowledge is power. Those who can use knowledge are powerful. For over a decade I've helped transform healthcare businesses into stable, profitable companies that can grow and help more providers help more patients. My knowledge has helped 6 different companies grow and help people. In 6 months my coworkers and I took a company that was losing $15m a year and brought it to break even, and then on to profitable sales of the three different business units into larger companies those units have blossomed with. I cut $2m in spending but improved performance and reliability because I came in with 20 years of knowledge and experience.

johnnyanmac 2mo ago

I make games, so I was never under the illusion that I was saving the world. But at the same time, art moves you, inspires you, reflects your culture, and overall has its own invisible tug on society. You can definitely argue my work isn't essential. I'd never say my work is pointless.

therealdrag0 2mo ago

My work produces results that customers like. Basically not pointless by definition.