I find this such a weird stance to take. Every system I work on and bug I fix has broad sets of code that I didn't write in it. Often I didn't write any of the code I am debugging. You have to be able to build a mental map as you go even without ai.
When is the last time you had an on call blow up that was actually your code?
Not that I’m some savant of code writing — but for me, pretty much never. It’s always something I’ve never touched that blows up on my Saturday night when I’m on call. Turns out it doesn’t really change much if it’s Sam who wrote it … or Claude.
There is a difference between a lector and an author
Remember, they're not just good for writing code. They're amazing at reading code and explaining to you how the architecture works, the main design decisions, how the files fit together, etc.
It means Sam is 7 beers deep on Saturday night since you’re the one on call. He’s not responding to your slack messages.
Claude actually is there though, so that’s kind of nice.
Claude is there as long as you're paying,and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer.
Emphasis mine.
> Claude is there as long as you're paying
If you’re at a company that doesn’t pay for AI in the year 2026, you should find a new company.
> and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer.
Unlike human coworkers with a 100% success rate, naturally.
In sufficiently complicated systems, the 10xer who knows nothing about the edge cases of state could do a lot more damage than an okay developer who knows all the gotchas. That's why someone departing a project is such a huge blow.
It’s a difference reading code if you’re are also a writer of than purely a reader.
It’s like only reading/listening to foreign language without ever writing/speaking it.