first a bit of context:
I am a Systems Administrator having started his own business early this year. We do a little of everything basically selling and installing hardware like Servers, Computers, Printers, Surveillance Cameras etc. and offer support for the systems we install.
I personally really like AI and use it quite a lot in my day to day business but I am someone who doens’t want to “rely” on AI too much, in a sense that I want to know what I am doing and really understand the systems and procedures I work with and get proficient in what I do. Sometime I feel like I am getting behind in working like this and spending the time on studying and understanding the systems I work with. Some of the people I work with use a lot more AI but I have the feeling that they sometimes don’t really know what they are doing and are just doing what AI tells them.
Am I wrong in working and thinking like this and should I just embrace AI and let it do the work for me? For me this feels wrong and unresponsible at times but it seems to be the way most people are doing it unfortunately.
I am 28 years old and really just got into IT a few years ago. I really like it and hope this to be my future.
I work for a large corporation and have been in IT for over 20 years now. I tell all the folks on my teams that AI tools are nice but will not always be available. They need to keep their skills up not only because the AI tools make mistakes but given how corporations treat their staff you may not have it at your next shop.
Even for someone that is self employed you’ll be able to meet your customers more fluently when they present you with issues since you are taking the time to learn.
You might feel a bit disadvantaged by not using the tools as heavily but I feel you will be better off in the long run. You’ll also be able to use AI more efficiently by prompting it better since your understanding would be better.
You may not get to flex all of the knowledge you have accumulated over time, but you’ll have it if you need it.
One day a stranger in a fancy coat walked up to the tunnel. He had a big machine in a wagon behind him. He smiled a thin little smile.
“Boss,” he said, “I’ve got something to show you. This here is a steam drill. It runs on fire and steam, and it can drill holes faster than any man alive. Buy one of these, and you can fire half your workers.”
The boss scratched his chin. “Faster than any man?”
“Any man,” said the stranger.
The workers got quiet. They knew what that meant. No more jobs. No more songs. The machine would take it all.
John Henry set down his hammer. He stepped forward.
“I’ll race that steam drill,” he said. “Me against the machine. Whoever drills the deepest hole wins.”
The stranger laughed. “A man against a steam drill? Son, you’re going to lose.”
I don’t think you are falling behind: you are (hopefully) developing a deeper understanding which will ultimately make you more employable than some of your coworkers in the near future.
AI is a tool. If you do not understand the tool you are using and what it does, that tool is worthless.
Compare to a calculator. What is 5934839 + 583837? Calculator probably beat you to it.
But if you do not understand what a plus sign is… The answer is of very limited value.
“Boss this AI built system is throwing Error 53! Why??”
“Well, if you read page 237 of the manual you will find the table you are looking for. The answer is because you connected these two pins in the wrong order.”
It’s not a binary choice. I get that the temptation is to give in to the influencer…well, influence…where you’re either a doomer or all-in having agents run your life for you, but there’s a whole spectrum of middle-ground in there.
Local AI is a good way to find that middle-ground, because you have to give it smaller, more tightly-focused tasks (mostly), which means you have to understand more of what you’re asking the agent to do…and when you have to understand more, you’re more in control and you’re still learning at a reasonable rate.
God i wish troubleshooting was like that, you get an error code you see the error code table you fix it.
In my experience its more like error 53, read the error table, its a generic error that does not mean anything because they did not bother to set up a proper error system that differentiates between issues, waste hours doing additional troubleshooting and tests, and also look up online if some other poor soul had found a solution.
Yeah i dont have enough time to become intimately expert of dozens of software and their underlying ( sometimes proprietary) hardware, and follow their evolution through constant updates.
Thats what documentation and decent error codes are supposed to be for. I was not a maintainer of a handful of industrial machines for 45 years, i was a tech janny working on dozens of different clients with all sorts of hardware and software. If the only people that can fix your shit are 300 year old tech wizards in a white robe, you are screwed.
I think its important to to use the tools we have but also stay abrest of what is happening behind the scenes. I am a 30 year IT consultant and got in to AI last year.
I have a sys admin background and know how to build scrips, but I am not a full-fledged coder so I use AI to build programs for me.
I also use it to parse logs and help me built to-do lists and reports, but I always check the work because it can and does get things wrong.
I use it to assist what I do but I always stay in the drivers seat. I think it works great as an assistant, but I don’t let it do everything. I need to be the one in there poking around because my customers depend on me to get them accurate results. I think you are right to keep your knowledge up. I have an apprentice and I am teaching him how to use AI responsibly.
Im going to echo what others have said and say AI use is a spectrum. You can offload all your thinking and lose critival thinking skills if you feel so inclined, but that reeks to me of giving up a key part of the human experience. I have found I gain the most knowledge and skill from AI by having it teach me the task, rather than do it for me.
Here’s what I mean: I wanted PoE powered temp sensors with display screens becuase I’m scared someone will leave a chest freezer open but screw wireless. I know home assistant but not wiring, part choice, soldering, esp code. I had AI walk me through choosing parts and why, sourcing those parts and what sites to use and how to verify them.
Then I had it walk me through layouts for the pcb, how to solder properly, and got some tips for cleaner end results.
Same with ESPHome flashing. Had it walk me through setting up the code, and ESPhome addon has improved hugely recently for UI and ease of assembly but learning that UI was helped by AI.
I now know how to do all those things, and likely won’t have to ask it again. Treat it like having a query-able walkthough for a game youre stuck on (that sometimes gets it wrong) but otherwise works step by step. You wouldnt want a walkthrough guide to just say ~enable godmode noclip 1, then fly through the ground and one hit the final boss, so why treat any other task you actually want to learn differently
Having a “conversation” with AI and finding my knowledge gaps, closing the gaps, deciding on a path/method, and then having it generate a guide based on that has been my method, which seems similar to Jojo314.
All the perks of not having to spend a day finding info or nerd sniping yourself, all while improving your skills still and actually learning and doing.
Most recent case was checking some used drives I got off ebay and understanding the commands to run and check things, and why stuff likes Wendell’s recent guide wasn’t applicable. I am not an expert in this now, but I have enough understanding to be able to have a starting ground, rather than having no clue.
Thanks for you input guys. This really encourages me to keep on pursuing knowledge and not getting discouraged by someone giving 0 fu*** doing just everything with AI and not knowing his stuff.
Really love this forum, the channel and the content Wendell and his team are doing. Keep it up.
I’ve been laid off twice in the last year, and both times the explanation is that “AI does your job now." Which has been very discouraging, but I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it. I guess you could say in getting back on the horse that threw me off.
I’m looking at learning it to be more of a force multiplier, like folks are saying in this thread. I still want to know the “how" and “why" behind everything, and still learn something new everyday. I’m leaning on my local llm to handle automating things that I would normally script, but much quicker, and not letting it make any serious decisions. I’m trying to strike a balance of not fully vibing everything while not being a full-on luddite. I’m also hoping it will help with a career pivot too haha.
I think as long as we keep an eye on things, keep up where we can without getting dragged down by it, or becoming unhealthily obsessed with it, we’ll find our way with it. There’s still a lot to be optimistic about!
