Ask HN: Agentic AI just makes me sad

4 points | by NicoJuicy 10 hours ago ago

4 comments

  • mc-serious 10 hours ago

    Every automation wave produces people who genuinely can't imagine what comes next, and they're always right that something dies and always wrong that nothing replaces it. The deeper issue though is that you've started measuring yourself with the machine's ruler. Heidegger called this "enframing". Technology doesn't just change what you do, it changes how you evaluate everything, including yourself. Once you accept output speed as the metric you've already lost the argument on its own terms.

    The kid learning french and dutch shouldn't try to out-translate an API. He's trying to exist in someone else's world, adapting to someone's culture gives and edge that's not easily measurable.

  • sph 3 hours ago

    Thoughts have been shared far and wide. This place is very much pro-AI, so you won't find much nuance here, unless you wish to be convinced that all this is good for humanity and you just have to trust the process.

    The truth is that no one is able imagine the long-term ramifications this piece of technology will have on society at large, but we can all agree they will be immense in either direction. I feel for the first time engineers and academically-trained STEM graduates will have to wrestle with philosophical concerns they are not really prepared for, and you will have to make your mind up for yourself.

    Is this what you want for your family? If you think it'll be good, go for it; if you think it has potential to be bad, see if you have any power to steer its direction; if you think it's a net negative, time to look elsewhere for meaning than software development; if you think it's an existential risk, join the growing class of anti-AI activists. The easiest road that the vast majority will take is just to hide their head in the sand and see how it plays out. What the world needs are not ostriches, but people with self-reflection and strong values.

  • jvqv 9 hours ago

    I don't think the answer is to out-compete the machine. It's probably more about being intentional about which efforts still matter to you personally, regardless of whether a tool could do it faster.

    The kid learning French and Dutch is a good example actually. He's not doing it to translate. He's doing it to connect with someone. At the end of the day, there will always be things only humans can do, a touch of human spirit. Sorry for being too cheesy

  • 8 hours ago
    [deleted]