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Code Is Cheap Now. Software Isn’t
(chrisgregori.dev)
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this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
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Programming
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No question, but ethics are a different topic where we seem to agree.
In any case, I find it appalling how much people argue against what they think who I am or more generally that they argue about me at all instead of the topic. Simply because I am not "on their side". You too do this kind of gatekeeping around "we did the hard work" and "those thanking AI are only noobs", in both cases I am implicitly excluded/meant the way you phrase it. Mind you, both are very much incorrect. I learned to code MCUs 10+ years ago with Arduino and built a potent simulation tool for the chemical industry just prior to the launch of GPT3. I am also absolutely not a professional software engineer. But why do I need to say that? It should be completely irrelevant to the discussion. Instead, people want to show/see authority as if it meant anything.
I don't mean to argue with you. I'm just trying to answer your implied question - "Why are so many programmers angry at this new tool?"
Like artists, this new tool steals our work without giving due credit. And then it tries to replace us with a low quality mass regurgitation of our past work.
I'm not angry that you have this new tool, I'm still happy if it helps you.
I'm angry at how this tool was created and how it is being sold and monetized by scam artists.
Edit: I guess I am arguing one point: People keep unjustly crediting AI for making an on-ramp for new developers. AI didn't do shit. People like myself built that on-ramp. I am happy that AI made the on-ramps I have helped build more discoverable. But I wish folks would not lose site of the fact that AI is just regurgitating guides that I, and my peers, wrote.
It is annoying (and a little insulting) to constantly hear about how helpful AIs answers are. I wrote many of those answers. AI copied and pasted them.
Edit: I'm not mad at AI users for having easy access to something I wrote. I wrote it for them.
I'm mad at AI Tech Bro's for stealing my work and taking credit for it, while charging people for something I gave away for free.
Yes, completely relatable.