Why craft-lovers are losing their craft
Programmers are split over whether large language models and code-generation tools are devaluing software as a craft or simply reshaping it. Many lament a shift from thoughtful, hobby-driven coding toward high-volume “slopware,” industrialization of development, and pressure to prioritize speed over quality, drawing analogies to photography, woodworking, and the original Luddites. Others argue that new forms of craft are emerging around orchestrating AI systems, that experts will remain necessary for complex work, and that the deeper issue is how capitalism channels productivity gains away from workers rather than the tools themselves.
Craft vs “make it go” programming
- Longstanding split: some treat programming as a craft (architecture, clarity, long-term maintainability); others see it as a means to an end (“make it go”).
- Several argue LLMs amplify “slopware”: more throwaway, copy‑pasted, or AI‑generated code that craft‑oriented developers must debug or rewrite.
- Others counter that “over‑crafted” code can also be a maintenance burden; simple, boring code is a virtue.
LLMs, quality, and daily workflow
- Concerns:
- LLM‑written code can be inconsistent, wrong, or just “differently broken,” encouraging replacement rather than real fixes.
- AI‑generated tests often assert implementation details, not behavior, increasing churn and false positives.
- Auto‑generated commit messages and reviews can contain fabrications, shifting effort onto reviewers.
- Supportive views:
- LLMs excel at small, tedious tasks (finding references, boilerplate, merge cleanups).
- New “craft” emerges around prompt design, building agents, and orchestrating systems of tools.
- Some find programming more fun with LLM assistance; others report the opposite and feel alienated.
Analogies to other technologies and crafts
- Frequent comparisons to:
- Photography (film → digital → smartphones): lowers barriers, creates massive mediocre output, but experts remain.
- Woodworking: hand tools vs power tools/CNC; some value process and skill, others just want a finished product (parodied with IKEA/prints analogies).
- Industrialization: looms, typesetting, editing film, etc.; software once displaced other crafts and is now being “industrialized” itself.
Labor, value, and “march of progress”
- Some see LLMs as another step in capitalism’s drive to deprofessionalize work, reduce wages, and concentrate gains with capital owners.
- Debates over intellectual property, “training on stolen work,” and fairness vs legalism; strong disagreement on whether this matters or is simply inevitable.
- Broader worry about a shrinking middle class, potential UBI, and loss of meaningful, well‑paid craft work.
Coping, adaptation, and future niches
- Suggested responses:
- Separate paid work from hobby craft (code for money one way, for love another).
- Shift careers (e.g., teaching) to protect time and autonomy.
- Accept that software “craft” may retreat into niches where process is visible and valued, similar to high‑end luthiery or watchmaking.
- Others argue energy and cost realities may limit giant general‑purpose LLMs, favoring smaller, targeted tools.