Are we convincing ourselves that AI is a tool to be embraced?
I had initially set out to write this week's newsletter chronicling developer reactions to AI infusing every bit of Google I/O. But time escaped me, and after sifting through various threads across different subreddits, followed by a short, pointed phone call with an Android developer, I sense that the dust is still settling—and that I need to do a little more digging.
Yes, I need to do my job. What a concept. I was working on something for the newsletter this week. Then I realized that with the advent of AI infusing into everything, I am woefully behind on how developers are integrating it into their workflows. I've plenty of anecdotes from conversations I've had with developers to refer to, whether in Android or other spaces, but it's still a mixed bag. Some of y'all love the fact that AI in a coding environment is like having your own personal virtual "rubber duck." Kurt Nelson, the longtime Android app developer I spoke with on the phone a few days ago, told me about a coding concept where, as you're struggling to move forward in a string, you bounce it off, line by line, to a "rubber duck" to try to figure it out.
It sounds like what I use AI for when I'm writing. To be clear, I don't prompt it to do the writing for me. However, I will pop into Gemini, as I did earlier today, to help me find a specific word that works in a sentence. I'll provide context on the subject, explain how I suspect the subject is feeling about something based on the quotes that I have, and ask for words related to what I'm trying to convey. I'm not specific about it since the subject of what I'm writing is not essential to the point. Even still, Gemini will offer examples on how to write, and the suggested sentences are often specific to the concepts I presented. The back and forth is constructive, and it has reduced the time I've spent searching through a search engine and various websites, looking for an example that comes close to what I'm thinking of.
It was a notably slow week for news, which is why I'm rambling about this. The fact that the biggest story was Jony Ive and Sam Altman's engagement announcement photo shoot made me think about how AI is the only thing anyone is talking about right now. Which is why I'm using it. I'm looking for a problem where I can apply AI so that its slow creep into society doesn't shock my system. I figure that developers out there are dealing with similar feelings. If so, it's a good time to reach out to me as I delve further into how AI is changing workflows behind the scenes. I even have an email address here at Android Faithful. It's for you to use to write to me. I don't have much else going on at the moment. I am standing by.
Huyen Tue Dao is back fresh from KotlinConf to discuss how developers are embracing the latest changes. Live Updates are coming to Pixel phones and Wear OS. We also bid adieu to Pocket, an app we used to collect links to read later, but never actually opened to read those links.
