AI

Yep, time for me to write another blog post about AI. I’ve written stuff on threads and bluesky about this, but I don’t think there is any way I can elucidate my thoughts on the topic in a medium best suited for quick conversations. Anyway, here goes a mostly AI-less stream of thoughts that totally elucidates how I feel about the whole thing.

What I use AI for

Honestly, as a developer, AI is that over-enthusiastic intern who got their hands on a textbook of software paradigms, and in a caffeine-induced frenzy, decided to memorize the whole thing. I see that every time I ask it to do something for me, it goes on this amazing trajectory and makes changes I would have never thought of, only for me to look at it later and realize it makes no sense and it might have been easier for me to simply look at the code and do it all by myself. For the non-hard skills that are important in a job though, AI can help augment your strengths and make your life a whole lot easier.

My experience with anxiety

I am not immune to anxiety. I grew up middle class in India. We were always taught about the ephemerality of everything around us. And that did not just include material posessions. It included the attitudes of people toward us. Including people at power.

Power is a complex thing. Power, the way I say it, does not imply politicians or bureaucrats. We all yield power over others, and others yield power over us. Most importantly, the power we have over ourselves and over our environment gives us a sense of self. Yet, as it is with childhood, the power over self is almost always overshadowed by the power others have over us. And this perception can extend into adulthood, even if it is not necessarily true in reality.

I have, finally, after four years, begun writing again to post online. I decided to do away with medium or what have you and post on github instead. I moved away from an amazing React-built portfolio website to a simple one built with Hugo (check it out, it is really powerful, and perfect for this kind of website).

Over the past four years, I never felt like I needed to write. I didn’t forget the craft of writing, or become illiterate - I just never felt the desire to sit in front of a computer and write. What would I write about? What was even there for me to write? What could I write that someone could not write better?