working by hand

I like woodworking with hand tools: planes, saws, chisels, etc. Compared to power tools, it's quieter, there's less dust, and generally less risk of losing a finger (you can still get some gnarly injuries. I know).

But I'm no purist - I love my bandsaw and lathe, and I generally prefer to prep stock with the jointer and planer before taking over for the joinery and finish work. In the old days, that would have been the apprentice's job: the tedious manual steps before the craftsperson takes over.

This post isn't really about woodworking. The world of software programming is quickly moving towards a reality where most code won't be written "by hand" - it may be directed, instructed, and orchestrated by a developer, but the bulk of the lines of code will be written by an AI Agent. I know there are still "buts" - it can't handle a large codebase, it can't work in novel languages, etc - but my perspective from the last few years is to not bet against the ability of LLMs to materially improve and address shortcomings in short order. I've seen the move from "enhanced autocomplete" to "plan and implement this feature" just this year - who knows what next year brings.

So what's next? I like hand tools, but I'd likely not use them much if I went to work in a production furniture shop: who needs a rip saw with a table saw around? Or smoothing planes if you have a nice Mirka random orbital sander? Who needs tenon saws and mortising chisels if you have a Festool Domino? (Sidenote: I also have a Domino and have no plans to give that up, either). It's economically unviable for all but a minority of furniture makers in the modern world, and even they might still need to subsidize their work with teaching or other income streams.

Maybe that, too, will be the way of the software developer: the factory line of the Dev Shop will demand the efficiency of the AI-native coder and leave no room for the Luddite. Those purists and hobbyists will sit at home, write each line by hand, argue in forums about syntax, experiment with esoteric languages with no need to deliver on time or under budget. They might even reach for an AI once in a while for prototyping or to help with a tricky problem.

Am I excited about that world? I don't know. I'm just trying to recognize what I think is going to happen I like it or not. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to train a few AI Agents so well I can set them off on tasks each morning, head out to the garage to sharpen chisels and saw some dovetails, and check in at lunchtime.