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cassianolealtoday at 7:00 PM2 repliesview on HN

> This is the number one thing I optimize for now: the ability to quickly and safely change significant parts of the code and product.

This was always a good thing. Its value has nothing to do with the advent of AI coding.

> The opportunity cost of not being able to safely restructure has gone up substantially.

This bit is contradictory with everything else you said. Prior to AI coding it would take a lot longer to perform restructures. If anything, the thing you're now optimising for has gone down in value. It's still valuable, but perhaps a little less.


Replies

mohamedkoubaatoday at 9:14 PM

Ironically, AI assisted/generated code is not trending in the direction of the ability to safely and quickly change. Especially when piloted poorly

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phamiltontoday at 7:10 PM

I'm not talking about time. I'm talking about safety. The amount of times I've seen "I refactored it, but I'm not confident enough to take it to prod" is significant. Being able to go faster but still not ship it is the huge opportunity cost.

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