Just seeing the list here: https://codeberg.org/small-hack/open-slopware
I don't know what to think about it, many incredible open-source projects went downhill, some worse than others, full AI permission usage and some of them even advertise AI providers on README.md. I'm even using many of them myself.
Even the good guys are falling, I'm not sure what to think about it. Am I overreacting maybe?
You might think, that's fine, not a big deal, some of them just allow AI usage, but not AI generated code, but for how long? If you allow use of AI for anything the tendency is that you'll be even more open about it in the future.
List of projects that personally draw my attention or I use eventually:
- Firefox: not unexpected, but still, I had hope on Mozilla bring more tech awareness on mainstream
- Spaceship prompt: I use this on my terminal for customization, why'd you need AI for such a simple project?
- VLC: just sad
- curl: sad x 10
- Vim: sad x 20
- zoxide: they literally promoting AI providers in the README, such a simple tool as well, why?
- CoMaps/Organic Maps/OsmAnd: the few ones providing a good alternative to Google Maps
- Element: that's literally the most used client for Matrix I guess?
- Python: I thought they were the good guys as well
- Lemmy: unexpected, code of conduct says it's allowed
- Linux: the final boss, unbelievable
Is there any hope at all? Or am I just overreacting?
Well, I write code for people, too, and still much of it by hand. But there is also a non-trivial portion that can be generated and quickly evaluated. It's not the majority and it's hit or miss, but in aggregate I'm measuring a positive impact. It's far from the insane promises made by the AI companies, but it's measurable, in real numbers. Think more of a 10% increase, not 10x. Is this enough to justify a trillion dollar industry? Doubtful. Is is low enough to be discarded? Not in a serious productivity focused environment.
I'm afraid arguments of mere utility don't hold much sway for me. Asbestos is also very useful as a fire retardant. ๐ซ