<![CDATA[Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs.]]>Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs.

Toxic productivity culture, people meeting badly-designed internal reward metrics, hopping jobs and never seeing the consequences of bad choices, plummeting quality, short-termism.

Sure LLMs add fuel to this fire, but I’m not at all convinced they’re causal.

If anything, their popularity seems more a consequence of the culture than cause.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/f82831d7-b8b4-432a-8c2d-fcbd81e61b7e/reminder-de-skilling-as-a-trend-in-software-engineering-was-already-in-progress-well-before-llms.RSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 09:12:33 GMTMon, 04 May 2026 15:09:37 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 17:06:14 GMT]]>@beep @elizayer
It would be great if they were deterministic, but then i guess no one would fall for their grift

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RnDanger/statuses/116517396416544270https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/RnDanger/statuses/116517396416544270Mon, 04 May 2026 17:06:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:55:42 GMT]]>@elizayer @hyc Some people care deeply about always doing their best by nature, and all our critical systems depend on them continuing to do so even in the absence of extrinsic motivation.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/cobbpg/statuses/116517355038165827https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.gamedev.place/users/cobbpg/statuses/116517355038165827Mon, 04 May 2026 16:55:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:55:06 GMT]]>@elizayer in a way, it's nice to be able to spot the corner-cutters more easily now

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/r0k/statuses/116517352690704102https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/r0k/statuses/116517352690704102Mon, 04 May 2026 16:55:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:54:20 GMT]]>@elizayer I agree, but I'm not sure that changes what we should do about it. Sometimes the highest leverage regulation point is the tool, not the behavior - e.g. guns or narcotics. Yes, we should also work to eliminate the reasons people turn to those things, but that's not mutually exclusive with short term solutions.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/twifkak/statuses/116517349655361679https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/twifkak/statuses/116517349655361679Mon, 04 May 2026 16:54:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:31:07 GMT]]>But yeah this one I lived thru so I have first hand
experience of being a younger programmer where
the programmer's perspective was taken into
account. And more and more programmers
are made to do what they are told in spite of strongly
disagreeing with the tech or methodology
or concept etc.

By the time I'm a "senior" developer I effectively
have less input into projects than i did as an
entry level programmer.

What happens in that situation in any field is
it makes good people go away over time.
So now you "need" LLMs because no one is
left that knows how to build a project from
scratch. (hypebole but still true i think)
]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://snac.d34d.net/pkw/p/1777912267.797106https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://snac.d34d.net/pkw/p/1777912267.797106Mon, 04 May 2026 16:31:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:29:12 GMT]]>@elizayer custom-designed by and for dudes who can’t be wrong but ain’t never been right.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/damianwalsh/statuses/116517250849577890https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/damianwalsh/statuses/116517250849577890Mon, 04 May 2026 16:29:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:16:42 GMT]]>@elizayer

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.bau-ha.us/users/raganwald/statuses/116517201703562793https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.bau-ha.us/users/raganwald/statuses/116517201703562793Mon, 04 May 2026 16:16:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 16:08:06 GMT]]>@elizayer Oh gosh, yes, absolutely agreed. The industry’s long chased automated, repeatable solutions and frameworks — LLMs are just the latest salvo.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://follow.ethanmarcotte.com/users/beep/statuses/116517167881956015https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://follow.ethanmarcotte.com/users/beep/statuses/116517167881956015Mon, 04 May 2026 16:08:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 15:56:37 GMT]]>@hyc oh yes, very much so.

It's almost a wonder that expertise and care ever *does* develop!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/elizayer/statuses/116517122726440395https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/elizayer/statuses/116517122726440395Mon, 04 May 2026 15:56:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Reminder: de-skilling as a trend in software engineering was already in progress well before LLMs. on Mon, 04 May 2026 15:52:41 GMT]]>@elizayer outsourcing all technical competence to external agencies really took its toll as well. Still does, I suppose.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/hyc/statuses/116517107219788897https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/hyc/statuses/116517107219788897Mon, 04 May 2026 15:52:41 GMT