[NTLK] "All My Hobbies Are Getting Slopped Up, And It’s Exhausting"

[Eckhart Köppen]

On Sat, 24 Oct 2026 09:37:42 -0700, Adam Faircloth wrote:
> Hi friends. I enjoyed this piece below and thought it would resonate with
> many here on the NewtonTalk list.
> ...
> https://aftermath.site/ai-slop-hobbies-in-software-emulation/

Thanks for sharing, it makes some good and important points. It is 
astonishing how AI has disrupted large areas or our lives, even more so 
if you're involved with software development. And the range is from 
fully destructive to unthinkable achievements. Finding your path in 
this is hard. But I also think that disruptions are part of life, and 
you have to be able to live with them.

What comes to AI, I am not taking a principled stand for or against, 
for me it really depends on the application. In my professional life, 
it is clear that AI has strong benefits, but the baseline is that work 
needs to be also done when AI is not at hand, this is not negotiable.

Outside of that, I try to weigh cost vs benefits of using AI. Do I need 
to be able to do a certain task, understand a topic, spend time on it, 
or do I delegate this to AI so I have time for other things?

This excludes unfortunately the wider impact, such as use of natural 
resources, increasing social inequality (not everybody can afford AI), 
impact on communities and society and so on. That is a blind spot. 
Ethical living is hard.

Eckhart