David Heinemeier Hansson compares AI to a 'flickering light bulb'

Tech entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hansson talks about his long-term hopefulness for AI, though for now, he hasn't found a reason to alter his plans.

"I feel like it's a little bit like a flickering light bulb," Hansson noted during a recent "Next Token" episode.

"You're in total darkness and then it'll flicker on and you go like, 'I can see everything.' And then two seconds later, boom, pitch black."

When Hansson asked AI to create code, he found the output wasn't "as good as a job as most junior programmers I've had to deal with."

"I'm not feeling that we're falling behind at 37 Signals in terms of our ability to produce, in terms of our ability to launch things or improve the products," he said.

"And this is why I'm a little skeptical about the claims that AI is already now at a place where you can take your standard SaaS business and then fire half the programmers and still go faster."

According to Hansson, humans wrote 95% of the code for Fizzy, a Kanban-inspired organisational tool by 37 Signals.

Although they have investigated AI-powered features for it, implementation hasn't happened yet.

Hansson isn't worried about his business losing momentum while he focuses on coding himself. For now, he still appreciates "care about the beauty of it."

"That's a luxury that perhaps is akin to what a modern saddle maker enjoys when you go, "Oh, the letter's just right, and the stitching is just right.' And you're like, 'Okay, but you're no longer part of the main production for transportation,'" he said.

"And I'm like, 'Well, so what?' I'll continue to make my handwritten code saddles as long as I can for my enjoyment."

Conversely, Hansson acknowledges noticing AI's promise in the tools used by Shopify, where he is a board member.