Developer resolves to keep creating despite generative AI concerns

A software developer has described a recent collapse in motivation linked to concerns that generative artificial intelligence is reducing the value of programming, game development and other creative work.

In a post published on 12 September and linked through Hacker News, the writer said they did not enjoy working with code assistants. AI-generated output, they wrote, did not feel like their own and left them with little pride in the result.

The writer said the shift felt particularly painful because programming had been both a career and a hobby. Small tools, shell scripts and games had provided a sense of achievement, but they now felt that similar work could be produced through a prompt with less recognition for the person who made it.

Concerns about game development were intensified by a discussion of Zach Gage’s view that making games may increasingly resemble making music. The writer said the idea made years spent learning game development feel potentially wasted.

A conversation with Shad, described as a designer and engineer developing Uncamera, an iOS camera app made without generative AI, helped change that outlook. The writer said Shad had continued updating the app despite similar anxieties about the lack of joy and fulfilment associated with AI-assisted work.

The developer now says they will continue making games and tools in ways they find meaningful, even when that means working slowly or “the hard way”. Current projects include a game engine written in C++ and a faux-3D renderer, pursued for the learning and satisfaction involved rather than speed, competition or commercial recognition.