Drop the Performance: AI, disillusionment, and why slow is fast
Ben Wise went all in on building an app with AI, got disillusioned by the hype, and now questions what this tech is doing to our actual humanity.
Ben Wise hopped on what he calls the 'vibe coding' bandwagon to build an app. He thought as a writer he could just describe what he wanted and an AI agent would build it. What he got instead was a lot of frustration, a little burnout, and a humbling experience that led him to start learning how to program for real. The process was like a slot machine, sometimes spitting out beautiful code and other times just making a mess.
His disillusionment started there. He calls out the 'total fucking bullshit' from AI influencers who claim developers are obsolete, describing AI as a smart intern with amnesia who shows up fresh every day. You incur what he calls 'cognitive debt' by letting AI do the thinking, and you miss the chance to build your own mental models. It's why his new mantra is 'slow is fast.'
Ultimately, the problem with AI is the same one we found with social media. Both are performative. And every minute we spend with them is a minute we could have spent with a flesh and blood human. He cites the long running Harvard study that found the biggest key to health and longevity isn't money or success. It's having people you can be real with.
“Human beings need spaces where they can just drop all the pretenses, anything performative and just kind of be.”
Notes
- He tried to build an app using AI, a process he calls 'vibe coding,' but found it frustratingly difficult and humbling.
- He describes AI as a 'very smart intern who just comes in every day and is like, okay, cool, what are we doing?'
- He believes over relying on AI creates a 'cognitive debt' and has adopted the mantra 'slow is fast' for genuine learning.
- He says the most important factor for a long and healthy life, according to a major Harvard study, is having a social support network.