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It doesn't help that this is being forced from above. I agree you can't turn off your brain, but any time I argue that AI isn't the right tool for something ma

It doesn't help that this is being forced from above. I agree you can't turn off your brain, but any time I argue that AI isn't the right tool for something management gets angry. There is a constant push to fully automate things, regardless of what those things are. Even if I agree that you have to use your brain, when my boss is literally telling me to stop questioning whether AI automation is the right answer in team meetings/chats I'm just going to shut up and give them what they want.

CaptainTaboo 8d ago
My company is doing this, too. It’s the reason I’m submitting my resignation notice next week.
- drchickensalad 8d ago
  I just did. Good luck my brother/sister.
  - winrid 8d ago
    Good on you. I absolutely hate reading the output from Opus. It's disrespectful to make people read it, and to share AI output without reading and understanding it first.
    - eli_gottlieb 8d ago
      Opus in particular seems to somehow combine pretentious intellectualism with sheer idiocy.
      - disgruntledphd2 7d ago
        Yeah, it's funny. Both of the recent models from the big us labs require you to ask what does this mean before they'll rewrite in simpler language. Provenance this, gated that. It almost sounds like smart stuff, but then you dig deeper and it's vacuous.
localhoster 8d ago
Same. My team lead sits near me. He keeps checking if I'm using claude, or when we talk he pushes me to use claude. It's have gotten to the point that I wanted to work on something manually, so I booked a room in the office. Just to not be at my desk, because I'm afraid my claude usage will be reflected in my performance review.
- switchbak 8d ago
  This is BONKERS. I spend a lot of time encouraging my manager and coworkers to ... write some actual english. To not just point an AI at a PR and call it a day. To actually collaborate before we jump into something - leaning on the knowledge we've built instead of being a cowboy and assuming you know it all (you don't, not yet). In many ways it feels like we're back in some awful version of 90's based software dev. All these amazing tools have got us stuck deep in the shit swamp again. Also: I would hate working with your team lead.
  - localhoster 8d ago
    Not a big fan of him,but he was a dev before and it was a nightmare working with him as a dev.
- dfxm12 8d ago
  If the only metrics your managers have on your Claude usage is visual inspection/conversational, I think you'll be ok...
  - localhoster 8d ago
    I don't know how they eval me. Maybe they eval usage and maybe they don't. I just know I feel uncomfortable to sit next to him sometimes
RankingMember 8d ago
> Even if I agree that you have to use your brain, when my boss is literally telling me to stop questioning whether AI automation is the right answer in team meetings/chats I'm just going to shut up and give them what they want. Some would tell you that you need to find a different job with a better boss, but I'd say that this is quickly becoming something very hard to escape from. Investors want line to go up, and they all talk to each other about this "AI" thing that lets them cut staff and keep productivity, so naturally we're all getting it crammed down our throats.
- runarberg 8d ago
  Finding a better boss is like picking up the good cop. There are none. The whole industry has gone completely bonkers, and bosses are the ones doing it. The problem is systemic and if there are any good bosses out there, then there are systems in place to ensure that their ideals and behavior are not allowed to stand.
awsglkhj 8d ago
Suppose I do something myself. I reap all the benefits, but it takes a lot of time, I may not have the expertise to do a good job, and I get all the blame if something goes wrong. Suppose I go to the park and find one of several guys who would do it for free. I get all the of benefits, he might do an excellent job, but, because there's no contract, I still take all the blame. Suppose I actually hire a professional to do it. I receive fewer of the benefits. However, he's much more likely to do a good job, and the legal system provides a variety of ways to hold him accountable for the work. Suppose I hire a professional, but then insist that he use legions of guys from the park to do the actual work, since that's going to be some much faster and cheaper per quantum of work. I also tell him that if he's unwilling to do that, I'll find someone who will. I also tell him that, since he has so much more unoccupied time now that the original work is in the hands of all those other dudes, he gets to supervise still more work done by other swarms of guys from the park. At this point it should be clear that I'm not interested in quality work, but in having someone poised to absorb blame. I want a patsy. Now replace "guys at the park" with LLMs, and replace "free" with "nearly free, but with no warranty."
- fwlr 8d ago
  A “moral crumple zone”: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351054898_Moral_Crumple_Zones_Cautionary_Tales_in_Human-Robot_Interaction https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351054898_Moral_Cru...
bunderbunder 8d ago
Yup. This is coming from the top, and it's very much because the AI sales pitch that executives bought into is, "Automation can help you reduce head count." That means that they really don't care if, right there in the moment, just doing the job is faster and better. What they care about is that the actual work is being done by humans, and that's out of line with their grand vision of getting rid of humans.
scrimblo_blimbo 8d ago
They're getting mad because they want you to build your replacement
intended 7d ago
Absolutely. This is definitely a scenario in which management has bought into the hype and the people working with the tool are aware of its limitations. Like markets, the firm can remain irrational longer than you can push against it. Beyond a certain degree of effort on your part, it is not within your capacity to right the whole ship. I suspect that the people who are most likely to be allies are the CFO and budgeting teams in the firm. I’d be curious what that function is thinking of the situation.

CaptainTaboo 8d ago

My company is doing this, too. It’s the reason I’m submitting my resignation notice next week.

drchickensalad 8d ago
I just did. Good luck my brother/sister.
- winrid 8d ago
  Good on you. I absolutely hate reading the output from Opus. It's disrespectful to make people read it, and to share AI output without reading and understanding it first.
  - eli_gottlieb 8d ago
    Opus in particular seems to somehow combine pretentious intellectualism with sheer idiocy.
    - disgruntledphd2 7d ago
      Yeah, it's funny. Both of the recent models from the big us labs require you to ask what does this mean before they'll rewrite in simpler language. Provenance this, gated that. It almost sounds like smart stuff, but then you dig deeper and it's vacuous.

localhoster 8d ago

Same. My team lead sits near me. He keeps checking if I'm using claude, or when we talk he pushes me to use claude. It's have gotten to the point that I wanted to work on something manually, so I booked a room in the office. Just to not be at my desk, because I'm afraid my claude usage will be reflected in my performance review.

switchbak 8d ago
This is BONKERS. I spend a lot of time encouraging my manager and coworkers to ... write some actual english. To not just point an AI at a PR and call it a day. To actually collaborate before we jump into something - leaning on the knowledge we've built instead of being a cowboy and assuming you know it all (you don't, not yet). In many ways it feels like we're back in some awful version of 90's based software dev. All these amazing tools have got us stuck deep in the shit swamp again. Also: I would hate working with your team lead.
- localhoster 8d ago
  Not a big fan of him,but he was a dev before and it was a nightmare working with him as a dev.
dfxm12 8d ago
If the only metrics your managers have on your Claude usage is visual inspection/conversational, I think you'll be ok...
- localhoster 8d ago
  I don't know how they eval me. Maybe they eval usage and maybe they don't. I just know I feel uncomfortable to sit next to him sometimes

RankingMember 8d ago

> Even if I agree that you have to use your brain, when my boss is literally telling me to stop questioning whether AI automation is the right answer in team meetings/chats I'm just going to shut up and give them what they want. Some would tell you that you need to find a different job with a better boss, but I'd say that this is quickly becoming something very hard to escape from. Investors want line to go up, and they all talk to each other about this "AI" thing that lets them cut staff and keep productivity, so naturally we're all getting it crammed down our throats.

runarberg 8d ago
Finding a better boss is like picking up the good cop. There are none. The whole industry has gone completely bonkers, and bosses are the ones doing it. The problem is systemic and if there are any good bosses out there, then there are systems in place to ensure that their ideals and behavior are not allowed to stand.

awsglkhj 8d ago

Suppose I do something myself. I reap all the benefits, but it takes a lot of time, I may not have the expertise to do a good job, and I get all the blame if something goes wrong. Suppose I go to the park and find one of several guys who would do it for free. I get all the of benefits, he might do an excellent job, but, because there's no contract, I still take all the blame. Suppose I actually hire a professional to do it. I receive fewer of the benefits. However, he's much more likely to do a good job, and the legal system provides a variety of ways to hold him accountable for the work. Suppose I hire a professional, but then insist that he use legions of guys from the park to do the actual work, since that's going to be some much faster and cheaper per quantum of work. I also tell him that if he's unwilling to do that, I'll find someone who will. I also tell him that, since he has so much more unoccupied time now that the original work is in the hands of all those other dudes, he gets to supervise still more work done by other swarms of guys from the park. At this point it should be clear that I'm not interested in quality work, but in having someone poised to absorb blame. I want a patsy. Now replace "guys at the park" with LLMs, and replace "free" with "nearly free, but with no warranty."

fwlr 8d ago
A “moral crumple zone”: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351054898_Moral_Crumple_Zones_Cautionary_Tales_in_Human-Robot_Interaction https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351054898_Moral_Cru...

bunderbunder 8d ago

Yup. This is coming from the top, and it's very much because the AI sales pitch that executives bought into is, "Automation can help you reduce head count." That means that they really don't care if, right there in the moment, just doing the job is faster and better. What they care about is that the actual work is being done by humans, and that's out of line with their grand vision of getting rid of humans.

scrimblo_blimbo 8d ago

They're getting mad because they want you to build your replacement

intended 7d ago

Absolutely. This is definitely a scenario in which management has bought into the hype and the people working with the tool are aware of its limitations. Like markets, the firm can remain irrational longer than you can push against it. Beyond a certain degree of effort on your part, it is not within your capacity to right the whole ship. I suspect that the people who are most likely to be allies are the CFO and budgeting teams in the firm. I’d be curious what that function is thinking of the situation.