When was the last time when you were in the state of flow? Where hours passed by unnoticed as you were deeply focused on solving a tricky problem. I don't remember mine. I remember how it felt, I remember there were many, but which one was the last one I can't recall.
Endless rounds of layoffs, uncertain economic conditions, and the darn pressure to use more AI has been wreaking havoc to professional identity of myself, my team, my friends, my colleagues and strangers on the internet. So I know I'm not alone in this.
This article is my attempt to summarize my own coping strategies and turn it into a practical guide opinionated enough to be actionable and flexible enough to work for others. I can't help it - I'm an engineer, I don't like dwelling on problems especially when the solution is within my reach.
AI is Yet another automation tool
First thing first, we really need to talk about what AI is and what it is not. It is not magic, it is not consciousness and it is not a mythical ethereal power. It is a giant statistical model that is taught to predict the next token in a sequence.
