My Experience Using AI To Build A Webapp

There's been a lot of hype about generative AI and how it's going to replace jobs. I decided to give it a test and I've always wanted to learn the Django framework for Python. In some ways, it makes things easier and in some ways, it makes things harder.

With no prior experience with Django, it would also be a test of how well AI can replace coders. Can management just ask AI to come up with a website or make a modification to the codebase and get their work done that way?

Close, but no cigar

Overall, my opinion is that generative AI is able to give a good scaffold but if you don't know enough, you rabbit-hole down the wrong track and get lost with code not working.

This is not new. Writers have said that AI tends to bullshit, and bullshit confidently. It's the same with code, but because code has to work, you find out straightaway that the AI was bullshitting.

And that's the problem. I tried relying on it to create a 'to-do list' app with FullCalendar integration. Unfortunately, it just wasn't good enough and kept giving me something that was wrong. Frustrated, a couple of Google searches and reading a StackOverflow post identified the problem and I was able to solve it.

Coders can breathe easy after the Gen AI hype dies.