Cheap AI coding can ship software, but impact is not guaranteed
This is a experience after about a year of doing almost no coding by hand. made it possible to generate code for roughly the cost of a and solve problems that had previously been hard.
That included tricky work such as connecting C code to Go and fixing problems in React screen structures. Full features, tools, and team products were built, tested, deployed, and run in without obvious issues.
Even so, there was no clear lasting impact for the person, the companies involved, or real users. The low cash cost came with another cost: weaker personal coding ability and difficulty solving basic LeetCode problems without AI help.
Key points
- helped build and deploy real features, tools, and products.
- The direct cost was low, roughly like a normal monthly .
- AI handled technical problems that had previously been difficult.
- Working software did not automatically create lasting value for users or companies.
- Heavy AI reliance may weaken a developer’s own problem-solving skills.