I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the use of AI in programming. And I’ve had an epiphany that I believe explains a lot.
When I do low-level programming on my HP-41 calculator, the fun is in the coding itself. Not the result. It’s like my collecting of old HP calculators - the joy was never in having a collection. It was in the collecting. If somebody would simply offer me a complete collection for free, it would rip out all the fun in collecting.
Use AI for tasks where you love the process? Then the AI takes away the fun.
Use AI for tasks where you’re focused on the result? Then the AI amplifies the fun.
This distinction is crucial.
Process-focused programmers find their satisfaction in the craft itself. The elegant solution. The clever optimization and nifty logic. For them, AI feels like someone else doing a crossword puzzle they wanted to solve.
Result-focused programmers find their satisfaction in the working product. The shipped feature. The problem solved. For them, AI is a power tool that gets them to the finish line faster.
Why Senior Developers Are Slow to Adopt AI
I believe this explains much of the resistance among experienced programmers:
- They’ve spent decades honing their craft
- Their identity is tied to their skills
- They love the process, not just the result
- And yes - the prospect of being replaced
From Skill Space to Idea Space
The real transition happening is the moving from the “Skill space” to the “Idea space.”
Those who successfully navigate in the new world are those who can make that move. But if your identity is solidly anchored in your skills, that move is hard.
I was never particularly good in the skill space. Most of my classmates were better than me in sports, in music, in socializing. My forte was always in the idea space - philosophy, mathematics, creativity.
For decades I’ve worked alongside programmers vastly more skilled than me. They could write better code, faster. They knew the intricacies I glossed over. I spoke Ruby fluently, but others would run in circles around me.
Then came Claude Code.
Suddenly AI handled the skill space. I could focus purely on the idea space. The result was an explosion of commits to my 80+ GitHub repos. New music albums. More creative output than ever.
I still very much enjoy pulling out my reMarkable and jotting down HP-41 programs by hand. In fact, I love it. But I also love seeing my ideas cranked out at the speed of sound by Claude Code. And with less bugs I should add. My large, older projects have gotten a renaissance upgrade with Claude Code. And they are working better now, even when I didn’t skipped reviewing the code.
The programmers who thrive will be those who can let go of skill-based identity and embrace idea-based creation. The skill space is being automated. The idea space is more valuable than ever. Being flexible and finding new enjoyments is key.
“Be like water, my friend” (Bruce Lee)
Link to this post: https://isene.org/2026/01/AI-Coding.html