Don't worry I am not talking about agentic skills. This is one skill that doesn't come in a markdown file.
If you are “lucky” enough to work as a software developer right now, chances are you are looking at LLM output on a daily basis. It might be you have to (or choose to) use AI tools to help with your programming. Maybe the project manager has decided to offload all ticket writing to an LLM or the documentation is now all LLM generated.
Even if you abstain from using AI for doing your work, you can't get away from other people sending you AI generated content that you have to interact with. AI writing is generally overly verbose, and it just has an overall vibe that is easy to spot if you have read enough of it, or read enough actual writing to notice the difference.
For example, as I am writing this newsletter I am actually voicing what I want to say in my head (or sometimes out loud). Hopefully, that means my writing sounds like me and if you have watched any of my videos or spoken to me, you can imagine me speaking this newsletter to you.
Writing is supposed to be a conversation, it is a way of sharing ideas with others, and it can be a great way to process your own thoughts. I write in my journal on a daily basis, and it helps me process my emotions and thought processes. Especially if I am stressing about something, writing it down helps to put it in perspective.
If you hadn't guessed yet, the one skill I am talking about is communication, especially written communication.
Yes LLMs can produce plausible looking documentation and blog posts, but people can spot that you have used an LLM a mile off.
A survey was done recently on how developers react to AI writing.
85% of those surveyed said it mattered a lot if they detected that a blog post was AI generated.
They also asked developers how they respond to AI writing:
- 78% stop reading immediately
- 71% avoid that author in the future
- 57% downvote that author if possible.
Only 1.24% of people would carry on reading the article like any other.
Writing is still difficult to do well, but most people would still rather read someone's own thoughts that are badly written then read AI generated output.
So even if you're not a great writer, don't delegate your thoughts and writing to an LLM. You have a voice which is unique to you and people want to hear it. Being able to explain things clearly to other people is such a valuable skill to have as a developer.
❤️ Picks of the Week #
🛠️ Tools #
I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system - This is a really cool use for AI, especially considering it is a small model that works on a Raspberry Pi. I just wish we had enough birds in my garden to make use of it.
💻 Programming #
A look at the geolocation HTML element and how it works - This is a really good write-up on how to use the <geolocation> HTML element.
Back to Basics: JavaScript and Timezones - Formatting dates and times in Javascript is always such a pain. There are some good tips and snippets in this write up.
🔒 Security & Privacy #
216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem - I am sure it is not just LG that does this, but I am certainly boycotting all LG products from now on.
🎨 Design & UX #
Digital Sketchbooks in Procreate - This is a really cool idea for doing a digital sketchbook. Just use an actual sketchbook as your background, and then it feels more like normal drawing. Their artwork is pretty impressive too.
The best dark mode toggle is probably none - I was thinking of adding a switch in addition to the automatic light/dark, but now I am not so sure.
🤖 AI #
Fable 5.1 World Modeling - This is really cool. Although I wish they would get AI to make a tool to do this instead of relying on AI all the time for it.
LLMs as a Cognitive Virus - Over the last year I have seen more and more people using AI. From posters in my garden centre to all the school emails being written by ChatGPT.
Tao: Open math problems being non-renewably mined by AI - By delegating your thinking to AI you never get any of those aha moments that can lead to solving other problems.
Claude, change the “Add to Cart” button to blue - This sums up nicely what working with AI is like. And they wonder why developers are getting burnt out!
Fuck it, make it anyway - I am glad I am not the only one who feels like this. The last paragraph really hits home:
I can start using generative AI to feel like I’m “keeping up” or “competing”, but then I won’t enjoy the work. I could stop making things entirely, but as any creative person will know that’s never really an option. Or, I can keep making things the way I enjoy, keep learning, keep doing it the hard way, for no real concrete reason other than I want to do it.
🏢 Tech Industry #
The betrayal of perceived allies - I use Waterfox which is a Firefox clone. I think it is important that we have an alternative to Chrome given every other browser is based on it.
The same nine streaming subscriptions cost $702/year more than in 2021 - I have been cutting down on my streaming and resorting to buying DVDs again. With these prices no wonder piracy is on the up.
I have a theory that software drives people insane - This would explain a lot to be honest.
Selling software worldwide from Europe - I am planning on getting in to creating and selling desktop apps in the next year. It is the same both way. In the UK I am forced to use a Merchant of Record to sell to Europe or be forced to deal with a huge amount of VAT admin work.
Google's anti-scraping update - AI companies including Google scrapped the entire internet to create LLMs. Now they are trying to protect themselves from being scraped by their creations.
🎮 Gaming #
IKEA made a mod for Skyrim - This is hilarious. I certainly didn't have IKEA creating a Skyrim mod on my bingo card for this year.
🧠 Miscellaneous #
Restroom Archive - OK this is slightly gross, but I think Gaussian Splatting is a really cool technique.
Movie Scene Map – 13,312 films, series, games, anime and manga - I used to live in Bath and there were so many films and TV shows filmed there. It is always cool to see where places were filmed.
Household food resilience (UK plant-based edition) - The government really isn't doing much to help the country prepare for a potential war with Russia. We are slowly starting to stock up on things just in case.
QBittorrent breaks out of sandbox to commit crimes - Ha. If the large companies can get away with committing crimes because the “AI” did it then why not everyone else. “You wouldn't steal a car” but your AI agent might.
Watch Los Angeles get built, one building at a time (1880–2026) - This is a nice concept with all the 3D buildings. I am always fascinated to learn how places developers. OldMapsOnline is a good resource for Europe if you find his sort of thing interesting.
How to build a printer - Who said you needed to print to paper. I have a Xteink X4 so thought this was interesting.
Reverse engineering my e-scooter and rewriting the firmware in Rust - Some people are just geniuses when it comes to reverse engineering things.
Don't let anyone take away your big box of cables - This made me laugh. I actually have 2 boxes of cables at home. My wife is always asking me to thin down my collection which I have done in the past. I have been bitten before with throwing away a cable and then having to buy a new one.
Mexican student creates an acoustic fire extinguisher to put out fire in seconds - Well done to this student. It is one of those ideas that seems obvious but no one thought of it before. I hope this gets rolled out in more places and this student is set up for life.
👨💻 Latest from me #
I know everyone is feeling the pinch, myself included, with prices rising everywhere (thanks Trump). With everyone seemingly overcome by AI psychosis I would like to create a space where I can still teach programming and software design, but I need your support to do that.
I have updated my Patreon tiers to give people more (cheaper) options to support this newsletter and my channel.
- Junior - £2 / month - Early access to this newsletter
- Mid - £4 / month - Everything in Junior + early access to YouTube videos and voting on new topics.
- Senior - £6 / month - Everything in Mid + Code access, name listed on website and at the end of videos and exclusive discounts to new courses.
- Staff - £10 / month - Everything in Senior + a personal thank you from me. I will do higher discounts for my courses on this tier too.
If you don't want any of the benefits and just want to give a one-off tip then you can use Ko-Fi too.
💬 Quote of the Week #
Once all of my personal needs were met, my thoughts automatically turned to how I could make the world a better place. I didn't plan the transformation. It wasn't something I thought about and decided to do. It just happened on its own. Apparently humans are wired to take care of their own needs first, then family, tribe, country, and the world, roughly in that order.
From the book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams.
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