I was talking to some friends about this over drinks the other day. I feel it has the same effects as any drug (or behavior) that triggers dopamine. If I can get a dopamine hit for lower effort AI in 10 minutes, and maybe a tiny bit better of a hit doing it myself after a day, why would my brain go for anything but AI? Especially when my DIY muscles are a bit atrophied.

And of course the hedonic treadmill (if that's even valid any more, IDK) has reset the baseline so that anything less than the quick gratification feels like nothing. It makes the stuff I used to absolutely love feel like more of a chore compared to just cranking out features with code only an AI can love.

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dogleash 7 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm curious whenever I hear takes with your perspective.

Entering the workforce happens at an age where people have built (some more rudimentary than others) a level of understanding and self control regarding delayed gratification and Type II fun.

Did you have the kind of life where you were never really challenged to build that skillset, or is the mental stimulation so strong for you when you use AI that it overcomes executive function?

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andrewstuart2 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I have ADHD and have done quite a bit of reading and study on it, so I'm pretty familiar with how dopamine and dopamine disorders work. I've also been in the workforce as a software engineer long enough to have done some really hard things. So my life and career have both been plenty challenging lol.

And I'm not alone here. Like I said, I was discussing this with a bunch of friends who are also quite senior and accomplished in their engineering careers, and the sentiment was familiar for us all.

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AlecSchueler 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Did you have the kind of life where you were never really challenged to build that skillset,

Do you really think phrasing a question like this will ever induce a productive response?

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dogleash 6 hours ago | parent [-]

I guess I could have phrased it better, but at some point I'm asking about weak self control vs if the drug is that strong. The life experience thing was meant as laying down a facesaving reason that it's OK to say your willpower sucks. You just weren't forced to cultivate it. Plenty of reasons that can happen in life.

I think it's pretty normal to be able to reflect on the difference in life skills between myself and those I see in others. There are things I've struggled with throughout adulthood because through some happenstance I was able to avoid the class of challenge as a child.

I didn't learn how to study until my 20s. I didn't have will-power over eating and exercise until my body changed around 30 and I suddenly got fat, then I talked with friends that teased me for being less skilled at something than a teenage version of themselves.

What's the saying: someone who's never smoked doesn't have to learn how to quit smoking?

	▲	AlecSchueler 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I understand what you're asking and why, but the phrasing reads very dismissively and that's what I was asking about. Generally a friendly tone will get you a lot further.