The solution might be cancelling my AI subscription

Simon Willison's link-blog response to David Wilson's piece of the same title at thoughts.hmmz.org, also drawing on the Hacker News discussion. Posted on simonwillison.net, tagged: productivity, ai, generative-ai, llms, coding-agents, ai-misuse.

Summary

Willison finds Wilson's experience deeply relatable. He reports that coding agents can take him from a vague idea to a working solution — complete with tests and documentation, resembling a weeks-long project — "in less than an hour." His key concern is maintenance burden: even if the code is solid, there's a limit to how many such projects he can sensibly care for.

Key Arguments

Willison's take

• Coding agents create a genuine maintenance crisis: you can create faster than you can responsibly own.
• "Discipline is the critical skill to develop here" — one he admits he's been trying to figure out "for decades."
• If projects are instantly abandoned, what value did their creation hold?

Wilson's conclusion (via Willison)

• AI is "a tool producing a cheap reward with minimal input and no friction" that "can only be a liability."
• Realizing this "is probably the only real contribution of AI to date."

Hacker News counterpoints

• Some commenters with ADHD report finishing side projects for the "first time ever" because they can get them working before getting bored.
• Others describe AI as "a salve for my mind" — maintaining inbox zero and feeling like they "have a support team for the first time."
• A commenter noted that for people prone to hyperfocus, "working with AI can provide the kinds of stimulation we crave," describing feeling more engaged, productive, and "badass."

Themes

Productivity paradox, attention and focus, ADHD/neurodivergence and AI, discipline as meta-skill, quality vs. volume, maintenance burden.