I see two trends recently:
1. low skill people using it for trivial projects.
2. devs writing out the whole app into memory/context down to the names of the files, interfaces, technologies, preparing the testing, compilation framework and then hand-holding the llm to arrive (eventually) at an acceptable solution. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4_YYrIKLac
80% (99%?) of what you hear about llms are from the first group, amplified by influencers.
I'm guessing people feel the productivity boost because documenting/talking to/guiding/prompting/correcting an LLM is less mentally taxing than actually doing the work yourself even though time taken or overall effort is the same. They underestimate the amount of work they've had to put in to get something acceptable out of it.
This is my take: I’ve been professionally developing software for 25-years. I use Claude Code daily and find it really useful. It does take a lot of effort— particularly in code review, which is my least favorite part of the job— in order to get useful, high quality results. For small, focused or boilerplate-heavy stuff, it is excellent, though. Also, the most fun part of programming (to me) is solving the problem; not so much actual implementation, so agents haven’t removed the fun yet.
> 2. devs writing out the whole app into memory/context down to the names of the files, interfaces, technologies, preparing the testing, compilation framework and then hand-holding the llm to arrive (eventually) at an acceptable solution
I've just built a mobile app that does have a few sophisticated features. About 120 hours into it. (GPS, video manipulation, memory concerns) Never built on mobile before, I don't think I have the technical chops to do these hard parts on my own given the time it would have taken and the lack of focused blocks of time in my current life. It would take me a thousand hours without the Claude.
80% (99%?) of what you hear about llms are from the first group, amplified by influencers.
I'm guessing people feel the productivity boost because documenting/talking to/guiding/prompting/correcting an LLM is less mentally taxing than actually doing the work yourself even though time taken or overall effort is the same. They underestimate the amount of work they've had to put in to get something acceptable out of it.