Enshittification

Cory Doctorow termed this word in 2022. This is a word that represents the state of much of software today. Not just the end state, but often intermediate states and workflows/processes that lead us there. And I fear LLMs without the right mindset might get us there sooner.

While an abundance mindset is good, it’s often the decadence mindset that leads us there.

On a daily basis, I come across folks who just prompt the LLM to run simple bash commands that’d at the most take you another couple mins etc. but in the process, you learn something. And there are tools like butterfish, while being incredibly cute, can easily push one to a mindset where you don’t learn what happens underneath!

And then there’re folks who essentially use the LLM to churn 10x output. But output not necessarily translates to outcomes long-term. But in an environment where your worth is determined by the output in the near-term, one has to adapt to using these tools else the 10x output engineer is going to get the early worm.

Only time will tell if this will last.