If we could get that sort of mindset into the AI-maximalists, particularly in the executive suite, we'd be so much better off.

Use the tools that are APPROPRIATE FOR THE SPECIFIC TASK. Even if that means we're not always using the shiny toy you're desperate to get metrics up on. You'd look like a putz going into a machine shop and yelling at the guy working a lathe "but we just bought this laser engraver, go use it now!" Why is it different for programmers or other creatives?

Maybe the AI vendors need to start broadening their products too-- sell a better lathe to go with the laser engraver.

There are a lot of problems where the developer knows roughly what they want in terms of code already. The labour savings is mostly "not having to type in 500 lines of code" and it's wasted if they instead have to spend the same amount of time trying to craft prompts and babysit the LLM. I think there's a lot of potential in the "spicy autocomplete" flow for that use case-- start with a few key lines and let the system use pattern recognition and templates to quickly infer the other 450, all within the workflow they're already productive in.