I think part of the concern is around “could it be better”? Like if an elite athlete eats junk food all the time. Sure it’s working, but is it because of the candy?
Anthropic is often criticized for their poor UI/UX. The models are undeniably powerful but the packaging is typically poor.
This is not to drift into the conversation of profitability either, to be clear.
replyIt's a fair question to ask. If literally all the economic growth (and then some?) is going to AI companies, then nothing else is improving, in the aggregate.
replyThe broader question is definitely relevant, I was thinking more in context of the original post justifying their need to re-invent source control.
replyI definitely think that's an interesting question though. I know that in the physical product development world I'm seeing really odd asymmetric speed ups. Creating simulations is essentially automated at this point, stuff that would take days to code by hand can be done in an hour. Firmware debugging feels 3x faster than before. But the big slow stuff like manufacturing, assembly, and testing are completely unchanged. All of that little stuff probably adds up to maybe a 5% faster product development cycle than before if you're really leaning into AI. It's the type of thing that will compound over time especially if it's happening all over the economy, but won't blow your socks off.