My company is entirely shifting to AI. They want each one to use AI code generators. VS Code is prohibited in my company, and only cursor is allowed. Even task management is done by AI agents. I'm feeling like it is killing my creativity and thoughts. Should i resign?
Posted by Sufficient-Public964@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 98 comments
What are your thoughts on this? Even the AI our company is using is making numerous mistakes. Company management is not able to understand this.
thetrek@reddit
This feels like saying "even the water is wet" or "even the sky is blue". LLMs do not reason, so they cannot make mistakes, "hallucinate", or even be correct from a human's understanding of the concept. They generate associative and predictive continuations of text. Their correctness is a human interpretation.
Companies shifting coding entirely to LLMs fall into the classic blunder about software authoring: that that difficult task is typing or knowing the specific code to write. This is a bit like saying "I could write a novel if only I was better at typing and spelling."
The work of writing software is thinking about a problem space and coming up with a way of modeling that space for a computer. It is also a modeling that must be later understood to update when we develop new understandings or the problem space evolves as time moves forward.
LLMs can be a useful tool to aid in writing software and one day we might have actual artificial intelligence, but today is not that day. So either your company has some special insight into LLMs and your job is about to be replaced by some as-yet unannounced artificial intelligence or they are not rational thinkers and will make additional mistakes like this one.
In either case, your employment there has an expiration date and you should move on.
fromcj@reddit
Can’t tell if you’re being insanely pedantic or if you’re just trying to sound smart. Of course LLMs can be correct. Ask it what 2+2 is. If it says 4, it’s correct. It doesn’t matter how it got to 4, 4 is still correct, whether it’s because it predicted the number or did the math itself.
Anti-AI sentiment is good in reasonable doses but when you start saying this kind of stuff then you need to step away.
thetrek@reddit
Overly pedantic, but it's hard to avoid that when talking about reasoning as a concept!
The closest thing to what you're describing, though, is a "howler". However true the resulting conclusion appears to be, it's still considered mathematically incorrect.
This is what I meant by the later statement
fromcj@reddit
Ok, focusing on ‘mathematicwlly correct’ is equally pointless and pedantic. Ask it what color the sky is if you can’t stomach the idea of the LLM knowing how to get to the correct answer of basic math problems. The point remains that arguing an LLM can never be ‘right’ is ridiculous and weakens the position of the person making the argument.
robotmayo@reddit
We as humans know its correct but the LLM has no idea what "correct" is. It could spit out 4 a million times out of a million but it wont ever get closer to knowing what correct is because it cannot reason.
fromcj@reddit
Which is probably why nobody here is referring to LLMs as smart. But 4 is still the right answer, and trying to argue otherwise doesn’t make LLMs look dumber, it just makes the argument look silly and pointless.
wkwkland_prince@reddit
i think you need to learn how to read
Abject-Kitchen3198@reddit
If it was about typing skills, I guess we would have had mandatory typing courses or designated typists by now.
angryrancor@reddit
Nail on the head, no further notes. You've got a new fan.
aookami@reddit
brilliantly written
thetrek@reddit
Followup question though. Can you DM me the name of your company? I run a side hustle selling EMF / anti-radiation stickers for corporate phones and they sound like a potential customer.
DM_Me_Summits_In_UAE@reddit
That’s enough cocaine for one day
AlSweigart@reddit
Does anyone else feel like they're trying to get people to quit?
iOSCaleb@reddit
Considering that OP appears to have only ever posted once before from this account, I’m guessing this is a shitpost. Most of it doesn’t pass the sniff test.
Blitzsturm@reddit
Sounds dystopian as hell. AI can be a powerful tool but you have to understand a bigger picture, break everything into smaller logical parts, describe what's needed in each part meticulously and thoroughly check over everything generated.
Not allowing employees to write (or even audit?) code in favor of some kind of enforced vibes coding demonstrates a deep lack of understanding about how software development even works at scale. There has to be a coherent philosophy and strategy and you can't get things "mostly right" and survive
If I had to guess I'd say it sounds like they're desperate and needed dramatic cost cutting to survive. If I were you I'd keep my skills sharp and look for work elsewhere, but engage in it like an experiment to see where it goes. Just make sure you have a life raft ready in case that place sinks.
cheezballs@reddit
Get out. Fast. Fast. Like, right now. If you're not currently shotgunning your resume then start doing it now.
The_GSingh@reddit
Get another job lined up and then quit. This is the norm in every career. You only break it under extreme circumstances like life being under threat or extreme mental stress. This isn’t it.
Get another similar or higher paying job and then quit.
RadicalDwntwnUrbnite@reddit
This and I highly recommend not quiting until you have your login credentials at the next company, having an employer back out last minute after you've quit sucks. If you live in a place that is "at-will", remember that while you can be fire with no cause or notice you can also quit with no cause or notice. I only give notice to employers that respect me and forcing me to use a specific tools and AI would not be respecting me as a professional.
prof_hobart@reddit
Unless they realise their errors, your company will be going under soon. So time to look for another job because you won't have one there for very long.
AI is currently at a strange place. It's unbelievably impressive - the fact that you can ask complex questions about pretty much any subject and it can give you a convincing-sounding, and sometimes accurate, answer does still feel a bit like magic. It's enough to fool the naive into thinking it's genuinely smart.
But it's also unbelievably dumb a lot of the time. It's got absolutely no actual consciousness and no real idea what it's saying.Those sometimes accurate answers are balanced out by the frequently wrong - ranging from minor errors to absolute rubbish. Today it told me that it was still 2024.
I'll admit that I do sometimes use it to support some personal coding that I'm doing. But I treat any responses with a suitable level of distrust. It's basically a co-worker who's read tons of coding blogs but never actually seen a compiler. Probably somewhere between 75 and 90% of the code examples I ask it for are wrong - either not compiling or not doing what I've asked. But the majority are close enough, or at least get close enough after a bit of to and fro, to be something that's at least points me in the right direction.
It's like discovering a dog that could do basic maths - I'd be hugely impressed by its ability, but I wouldn't sign it up as my accountant.
AlexMTBDude@reddit
All smart companies are doing this. AI as a programming tool is here to stay. Either you use it or look for a different career than being a programmer.
minneyar@reddit
It's weird how people will randomly show up to repeat AIbro propaganda like this even though every person who is actually good at their job will tell you otherwise.
TonyGTO@reddit
It is not propaganda. The trend is clear, nearly all companies are doing this.
You can adapt but you can’t run
SprinklesFresh5693@reddit
Yeh where are you pulling this info from, one thing is implementing AI in your workflows to make your life easier in some scenarios, and another completely different thing is letting AI do everything
Ike_Gamesmith@reddit
Where are you getting this trend data, linked in?
Logically, it makes sense a big company with resources to spend would try to make a shift away from engineers and rely on the promise of being able to magically make code appear. If you ask me though, it's just another symptom of enshittification. Cheapening labor at the cost of long term stability and product quality.
AlexMTBDude@reddit
I've been working as a freelance consultant for 25 years, running my own consultancy company. Been coding since i was 12 years old. Read my comment again: What I'm saying is that if you are a programmer and you don't learn to use AI as a tool then you will be less productive, and out of work.
aookami@reddit
today a cutting edge model, o4, has suggested me to fix a test by skipping the test
really.
MineralDragon@reddit
Look for other employment but don’t resign. It’s always better to find another job before resigning at a company.
Resigning without another job lined up is a nuclear, last resort response to terrible working conditions.
fisher332@reddit
even in terrible condition job, pls dont resign, do you know what worse than stressful job, stressful finding job, it feels like death countdown
MrPureinstinct@reddit
Can confirm. Got laid off from my video editing contract on April 1st. I haven't found work yet. This is the first time since I was 18 (32 now) that I've had zero income and had this much trouble finding work, freelance or full time.
I'm just shy of 200 applications. Had one interview so far, 95% have just ghosted me, and the other 5% have been rejections.
Between working retail/customer service and freelance video editing I have 13 years experience in customer facing jobs. So far that hasn't meant shit even applying to some low level help desk and customer support jobs.
I'm working on learning web development in the time I'm not applying to jobs in hopes of switching careers at this point.
mystic-17@reddit
coming from someone that almost lost every thing for doing this: do not do it. if you roughed it out for this long, you can stand to endure the bs for a little while longer till you find a new job
HuntsWithRocks@reddit
Fully agree.
Interviews are kind of a “reading the tea leaves” situation where people go with their gut. It can be hard to judge true skill in a programming interview.
You’re telling a story in an interview and never would say “the place I work at sucks dick. That’s why I’m here” (of course). You “communicate” shit like “it’s been a great experience for me working where I’m at. I’ve learned a lot and I’m considering coming here to continue my growth” in some fashion. You’re not just saying things, your resume and behavior are “telling” things too . Having a job “tells” something.
Not having a job “tells” something too and it’s rarely good no matter how righteous you were. The new job don’t care. All they see is an unemployed person in the job category. You can overcome it, but that’s what you’re interviewing as. It’s kinda messed up, but makes sense. If you were good you’d be employed. That’s how they see it by default. Gotta overcome that. Yet another variable to beat in the interview now.
The exception is once you’re senior. Then you can maybe “take a sabbatical” to refocus and shit. You’ll have to sell the “why” on your unemployment though.
mystic-17@reddit
Yeah I would have never viewed it this way a year ago lol. I had a rude awakening tho
MineralDragon@reddit
There are definitely situations where it is warranted like unsafe working conditions or severe emotional distress. Resigning generally doesn’t give you the same employment benefits - but if you did resign due to unsafe working conditions or emotional distress some states actually may consider you still eligible if you can prove this.
However most of the time, even if a job is shitty you have the ability to “pull back” to a bare minimum on work and effort to give yourself a breather while you find other employment. Once you decide you don’t have any interest in maintaining your job at a toxic company, you gain back a lot of personal freedom to enforce boundaries. If you are meeting job expectations, and the company lays you off for the behavior change they owe you unemployment at that point.
peripateticman2026@reddit
Yup, I did once. Can concur. Sometimes, it's just the only logical step.
Ahielia@reddit
You should suggest that middle and upper management is replaced by ai/ml too, think how much money they can save by being more efficient!
Dr_Beatdown@reddit
Dude, your company is going to be cranking out some unbelievably crap-tastic code in the near future! Unusable and unmaintainable crap-tastic code.
If you have other options, I urge you to exercise them and get the heck out. If you want to wait around and see if management figures out what a mistake going all in on AI is right now it might work out, but it'll be painful.
Clear-Insurance-353@reddit
Always has been, by chronically stressed and threatened developers who have no time to explain what tech debt is to their managers.
Elegant_in_Nature@reddit
Seriously let’s hope it’s some milquetoast lower middle size company that only uses background programs or else a bunch of users are about to be fucked
Dr_Beatdown@reddit
You mean like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta?
Ugh
ssstudy@reddit
they all have their own ai and limited customer service (excluding amazon) so yes! nail on the head 🔨
TomWithTime@reddit
Or make themselves super valuable by being able to fix the bad output. Being skilled in whatever stupid term our industry will invent for this will be highly in demand soon.
My vote for the word is slop mop.
ssstudy@reddit
management is going to ask the devs why the code is broke and the product isn’t working — meanwhile the dev is trying to sift through the spaghetti code trying to learn what the AI coded. counterproductive. AI should be used as a tool atm. not production. not to say this won’t change someday, as i’m sure it will unfortunately. i agree with you though, OP should seek other options. because the next step is they will be removing anyone who doesn’t “succeed” at creating working code with AI. i wish there was laws in place that didn’t remove working positions and replace them at such grand scales with AI..
aqua_regis@reddit
How is this post suitable and highly upvoted here? It is completely unrelated to learning programming.
This is either /r/experienceddevs, or /r/cscareerquestions material.
Kwith@reddit
As others have said, find a different job BEFORE you resign. From the sounds of it, your current company probably isn't going to be around in 5 years due to incompetence. The worst part is they will all be standing there thinking "what did we do wrong?" and have no clue. People like that should not be in charge of things.
MisakiAnimated@reddit
The way Management's thinks about AI is like a Dad thinking putting six women together will make a pregnancy last one month instead of nine.
It's ridiculous.
Start applying for other Jobs but don't resign, once you have an out then get out. In the meanwhile respectfully show Management how it's simply not working out
MrSloppyPants@reddit
Nine women? Unless you know a secret?
nightwood@reddit
Your boss gets a hard-on from tencho-scifi bull-shit and is driving rhe company into the ground. Either he is an idiot, or is trying to cash out. Either leave or profit from the idiot somehow
EsShayuki@reddit
This sounds like a great way to end up with tons of technical debt. Eventually the exec greed is going to bite them.
ActContent1866@reddit
How do they know the extent to which you use it? Just because Cursor has AI capabilities doesn’t mean you have to or are forced to use it? Mandating its use sounds micro managey though which isn’t great. Personally I’d just use it and watch YouTube while it cascades and you prompt it.
Buttleston@reddit
The company gets reports on your cursor usage - how often you prompt, how often you accept generated code, etc
ActContent1866@reddit
Gamify it
No_Stay_4583@reddit
Write a script to input random shit in cursor.
IlliterateJedi@reddit
Use it to generate tons of tests to reach 100% coverage. It'll show high cursor usage along the way.
angrynoah@reddit
this is rage quit territory
I mean find a new job first before resigning if you can, but I would be out
Deaf_Playa@reddit
Name and shame, please.
You need to get out of there ASAP OP. Don't resign without an offer letter in hand, though, because we're currently in a recession. AI makes way too many mistakes to trust it to run entire departments in a fraction of the time. Yes, it increases productivity, but it doesn't improve it to the point where you can eliminate most of your staff.
Your management will become painfully aware of this when their bottom line starts to reflect the consequences of their decisions.
HemetValleyMall1982@reddit
Take all the AI and ML courses and certifications that you can make them pay for, start looking for another job.
When you get a job you like, then leave.
simonbleu@reddit
I think that I don't believe you? It is idiotic and would fail instantly. If you said they replaced people with ai and bought a license or something for a closed AI maybe, fine, but forbidding an IDE? It would take understanding why that is stupid in the first place. This is specially true since having the same employees and PAYING extra for ai is not sound
In the very unlikely case I'm wrong, then look for a job elsewhere (while employed) as that company is either a) eager to fire people 2) headed to ruin and ∆) a job where you will learn nothing useful. Likely all three
Sufficient-Public964@reddit (OP)
Yes they have forbidden using other code editors expect cursor. Cursor give dashboard to that how each team often using it’s feature. Even i had warning a week ago because my prompt was very less. Only app developers are happy because they still using android studio etc.
OneRobuk@reddit
start looking before you resign. that ship is sinking
Jakkc@reddit
Don't be a luddite. Evolve with the times. You want to keep riding your horse because you're familiar with it, but we're all driving fords now.
ghostwilliz@reddit
I'm so tired of this same opinion.
A more apt comparison is normal cart vs self driving car. Sometimes they run reds, crash and honk at people legally crossing the street. I don't wanna be in one.
The difference between actually programming and getting cursor to do it is not the same difference between a car and a horse. It's just not a good comparison
mealet@reddit
I saw this post right after: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/s/JFzW9ExI7x
-non-existance-@reddit
Y'know, I always thought that the "AI is going to replace everyone" was slightly hyperbolic.
Get out. Get out as fast as you can.
It's clear that this company would replace you in a heartbeat, regardless of how much good you do for the company. They have no respect for you, so you shouldn't sell your life to them.
As other comments have mentioned, don't quit until you have another job.
askreet@reddit
Entire HR workforce is AI? Trick it into sharing salary data with prompt injection. Honestly not sure I buy this, but maybe I should count my blessings that my company hasn't similarly lost it's mind.
StructureLegitimate7@reddit
RIP company
dqduong@reddit
Hey we might be on the same company :)))
bull_bear25@reddit
No. This will new normal. Learn this new skill and dominate the market later
RedCloakedCrow@reddit
Your company is going to crash and burn, and it sounds like you've recognized that coming.
Start looking for another job, do not resign. Spend your time doing coding exercises and get back into shape on the Leetcode questions that companies will likely ask you, brush up your resume, and start submitting it everywhere you can imagine yourself working. If this impacts the quality of your work, blame it on changing processes and confusion created by the rapid ~~company-level suicide~~ shift to AI.
Once you've got a new job secured, your choice how you want to approach leaving: you can submit your two weeks and close out your work; or you can just say "I'm quitting, get fucked". Given how it sounds like your company has treated its employees, I'd be more inclined towards the latter, but YMMV.
fabier@reddit
Slightly off-topic and just out of curiosity, can you disable the code generation in Jaspr like you could disable Copilot completions in VSCode?
My understanding is Cursor is basically a VSCode knockoff so in theory it should have some configuration options, right? I like to use AI tools selectively in my development but I always disable completions since it usually just distracts me. Its like having someone standing next to you trying to yell out the end of your SANDWICHES every time you try to EAT SOMETHING.
Elegant_in_Nature@reddit
This is pretty insane, my friend I would look for other vines to swing to, but remember you need to hold another vine before you let go. Good luck!
Raymond7905@reddit
Line up new job. Quit as soon as you can.
1smoothcriminal@reddit
everyone has drank the kool aid ... and even though it will cause diabetes in the long run we've all decided that "this is nice"
I feel for you OP.
Polish that resume, create things in your spare time and when the time is right, run lola run
Jim_84@reddit
This sounds like a company that's going to be hurting pretty bad within the next year or so.
SwiftSpear@reddit
While that sounds like a pretty awful environment to try to be productive... It's probably a pretty good environment for learning how to use AI. Their advantages and limitations. I'd try to keep the ball rolling until the writing is on the wall, and then you'll likely be a more desirable hire to wherever you end up next because of your experience.
turrboenvy@reddit
I agree. Since AI is all the rage, it could be worth sticking around for a while to put it on your resume.
MythicalMira@reddit
Agreed, I bet "how do you use ai in your work flow" will be a go-to interview question by next year and the more nuanced you can answer the better.
MyLifeForAiur-69@reddit
lol I wouldnt want to work for a technology leader that refers to LLMs as AI
ThatOnePatheticDude@reddit
Unemployed folks would probably not care about that.
Cryophos@reddit
Don't resign. They'll fire you later. We replaced 20 programmers to 3 MLOps. That's reality.
wggn@reddit
and in a year they'll hire 30 programmer to fix all the ai slop
JasonWorthing8@reddit
Pure speculation.
And even if true, nothing says he'll be at the vanguard of the rehire of the fix. Embrace the suck. Learn it. Know it. Incorporate it. Even though you have disdain for it, this is the way. And even if it eventually breaks, they won't regress; If they do, its temporary. The energies and the resources are and will be put into making it more accurate as time goes on. I think on some level you'll need to know it well to land the next few gigs along your career life.
Not saying to abandon the current skill, creativity, and everything you've learned and mastered along your journey. Retain that, of course. But to ignore what's in our face and the prospects of employability, pivot, adjust, learn, master add the arrow in the quiver.
In my past life I missed the art and expression involved in conceptual drawings of buildings done by hand, and then one day it diminished significantly. It still starts with an idea and a hand drawn sketch but in the end I had to use AutoCAD. I now every new mega building I see has less expression, less creativity and clearly designed by software concerned about geometry and the math of engineering rather than the art and expression the buildings of old had and still amaze us by when we look at them.
Think Notre Dame vs Freedom Tower in NYC.
Change is afoot... and what you are tasked with learning now is not even the destination, just a step on the road toward whatever that 'ultimate' might be.
I do truly believe that stone masons and sculptors are undervalued and cranes and bulldozers are gauche... But if I want to feed myself right now, I'd learn to operate a crane.
johnothetree@reddit
Likely longer, as it'll take a year for them to find out how bad it is, and then another year for management to get their heads out of their asses and do something about it
Express-Coconut-120@reddit
How long has that been the case and how is it going?
CarelessPackage1982@reddit
writing is on the wall...
Bahatur@reddit
If you really hate this, secure another job before you leave. More conservative big corporations or government roles are likely to be slow to adopt AI.
But consider trying to be the one who prevents the problems that come with routine AI use. For example, consider the extended formal methods that are supposed to be best practice but few companies actually employ, like producing a specification and more comprehensive testing.
AI performs better with aids like this. It is also pretty good at generating them in the first place. So try to be diligent with these steps, and providing them as context to the AI at each step.
They have the added benefit of being intermediate work products, instead of the usual nothing/it works dichotomy of vibe coding.
I expect this would be a factor in keeping your position through the coming cuts.
Bubbly-Swan6275@reddit
Collect your check from those clowns, nod and smile, apply elsewhere.
Jake0024@reddit
I would do it their way--minimal effort, let AI do your job for you. Meanwhile look for a new job if you want to, and collect your paycheck.
alibloomdido@reddit
No you should stay and report here every week or maybe have an anonymous blog. I think it can be very entertaining.
GadFlyBy@reddit
Use AI to polish your resume and bounce out, Hoss.
ksemel@reddit
Cursor uses VS Code extensions, you basically have VS code with a chatty rubber duck in the side panel. Ask it to give you examples, because it lifted those from stack overflow, juiced them into an amalgamation of partial solutions, and fed back to you. Except it skimmed off all the vibrant community context, and rough timeline attached to when that was possibly valid advice.
Take the example and use the internet to determine if the computer is punking you or not. Repeat until you understand enough errors on that subject to make shitty code into working code, then repeat.
sholden180@reddit
Get ready to dump a sinking ship, yo.
KneeDeep185@reddit
What's your experience level? I'd say if you have less than 5 years I'd starting for something elsewhere, but if you're already an experienced dev this might be a good opportunity to get really proficient at some new tooling. I'd be curious to see what I could learn over the course of a year being forced to use AI. It certainly wouldn't be my first choice but it could be an interesting experiment.
JWBS@reddit
Through no desire of my own I’ve had to try to use LLM generated javascript code. It’s buggy as all hell. In hindsight it would have been faster for me to learn the language
XanII@reddit
I'd roll along with it learn AI to the max. To me the fight is already lost as in the company i work with it is having from left and right coming in request for AI tools. Even if we told people we only use one specific Enterprise tier AI tool. The company heavily encourages AI now so the only thing i can do here is stand as the sec sentry and guard the security best i can.
OP's C-suite clearly is in the 'can we get away with it?' mode and they are likely also being pressured to bring results, ANY results with AI. That means they are 100% onboard taking a chance to wreck the production code base long term in order to shine in the other AI department. Consider this gamification: They wanted AI, they will get AI. Damages will be fixed later if people still have a job. If not then it is no concern to you anymore or if it is then you better have your consultancy ready to pounce with heavy billing prices.
Now 4-6 months in this game is probably going to be a long time so i would stick around. But keep CV polished and talk to support and sales to be informed what happens on the income front. Be ready to bail if major clients end up on the churn list as then it's another 6 months tops and major restructuring or worse is coming.
Secrxt@reddit
It blows my mind that people still believe in meritocracy when executives are doing shit like this.
Update that résumé, apply to other places, etc. By the end of this, they MIGHT realize they need knowledgeable engineers to fix all the broken code before firing all of them, but it's best to have a backup ready to go.
not-halsey@reddit
Ride it out while you can. I would say if you have time available, hone the skills that will help you debug the AI slop when that time inevitably comes
LOL_YOUMAD@reddit
You never want to resign. Start applying elsewhere, having a job gives you leverage for better pay and benefits, if you are not employed and the places you are applying know it they will lowball you because they know it’s better than the $0 you are making.
Your company is likely going to lose too many people and then have to panic hire people when they realize that this fails
BroaxXx@reddit
Get a new job and then leave. Don't put yourself against the wall.
But, yeah... Definitely get out as soon as possible.