I'm a software developer and I'm finding that I can't keep up with AI as much as my colleagues.
My company keeps expecting a higher velocity from us all. They say that we need to use it so it works independently for longer sessions and then revise at the end. I've tried this before and I am never satisfied with the results. I like having more control throughout the process. I also find it difficult to review the code it produces when I had a hands off approach. I probably spend a lot more time editing and trying to understand it.
I feel this constant pressure now that I'm not going fast enough or not using AI enough or well enough. I never had a velocity issue before AI.
Overall, my brain just feels so overwhelmed. We are expected to do a lot of context switches. The tickets people create are vague and hard to understand as it was all produced by AI. The MRs people send out now have descriptions that are basically nonsensical. The code also seems rarely to be tested sufficiently. I do more frontend and it's rare people will include screenshots or videos for UI changes.
When I get a task I feel overwhelmed because I know I'm not allowed to take the time I want to understand it the way I want. I also feel like my programming skills are decaying because we aren't supposed to write the code by hand anymore. We aren't allowed to take the time to understand.
On the one hand I know I'm at fault for not trying as hard as my colleagues. They seem to have extensive set ups and are constantly trying everything. Having their own AI teams and all.
I feel like I'm behind with the times and not keeping up. But I also feel like we are being pushed to use it unnecessarily. I also like being able to formulate my own thoughts / ideas.
I'm many ways AI is great, but I don't like the way we are being forced to use it.
The shift also feels crazy. My colleagues used to be so nitpicky when reviewing codes. Long debates on whether we should use a switch case when mapping, if we should use the builder from Lombok, the naming of methods and variables. Now it's all about just shipping quickly and how extensive your set up is. Doing anything manual like writing a ticket is frowned upon.
Are others feeling this way? I feel like going crazy a little.