ai-adoption on S Anand

Workshops help AI adoption

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:08:46 +0800

To teach a mindshift change like AI adoption, I’ve tried to:

Workshop: get them to do it. “Let’s try something. Can you share your screen?”
Live-code: show them how. “I’ll share screens and tyep this.”
Demo: show what’s possible. “Here’s what I built.”
Talk: explain it. “Here’s something we can build.”
Interview: ask them about it. “What do you think?”
Listen: let them yap.

The most effective are on top.

But there is one intervention I didn’t evaluate:

Exercise: give them a problem to solve.

This takes more time and patience on my part, but might have the highest value.

What this means for me is:

Don’t live-code. Workshop it. “Can you share your screen and try that?” Preferably as an open-ended problem.
Don’t demo/talk. Live-code it. “Let me share my screen and try that.”
Prepare micro-experiments. Keep a ready catalog if things to try.

The Nov 2025 Vibe Coding Ghost Revolution

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:21:42 +0530

I kept hearing that with the Nov 2025 release of Opus 4.5 and GPT 5.2 Codex, ex-coders were sprinting back to coding.

On a sample of ~1,700 developers on GitHub, exactly ten fit the “dormant returner” profile.

Here are a couple of examples:

But they’re the exception. I could find only TEN out of 1,700 developers who returned. I also found a few who exited:

To be fair, the vibe coding revolution is real, but maybe we are (I am) mis-interpreting it.

There are lots of new non-developers joining GitHub. Anecdotally, Naveen Gattu (finally!!) and Ankor Rai
A few high-profile ex-developers are returning and are very active. Anecdotally, Sebastian Siemiatkowski
But the majority of the developers who were less active last year remain less active.

Read the full analysis.

Human as an Interface

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:54:54 +0530

People often email me questions they could have answered with ChatGPT. I just copy-paste the question, copy-paste the answer.

This isn’t new. From 1998-2005, I used to do this Google searches.

Even people who have Google Maps on their phone ask me for directions. I pull out my Google Maps and tell them. They don’t even get the sarcasm.

Effectively, I’m the Human-as-an-Interface (HAAI everyone!)

But I learnt today that this has historical precedent. Doormen, lift operators, doormen, the waiter who recites the menu, the secretary we used to dictate to, …

These can be high-paying jobs, too.

Consultants look at your watch and tell you the time.
Coaches make you talk yourself out of your problems.
Wealth Managers invest your money worse than index funds.

This happens because:

You’re buying convenience. “I don’t have to think or worry about it.”
You’re buying insurance. “The consultant said so.” “The auditor signed off.”
You’re buying status. “I can afford a butler.”

Also, we’re biased. Costly feels better than cheap (e.g. watches). Action feels better than inaction (e.g. active investing). Those we hire create (or lobby) work for themselves. It takes disruption (e.g. tech, regulation) to change this.

If you want to sell these, your scale depends on what people buy: Procedure, Brains, or Grey Hair

Companies sell procedure. Consultants, auditors, IT/BPO firms, …. have partners who sell, associates who work, and churn doesn’t matter. (McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, Deloitte, Infosys)
Studios sell brains. Agencies have star-led small talented teams where churn matters. Scale hurts their agility. (IDEO, Thoughtworks, Pentagram, Frog Design)
Professionals sell relationship. Coaches, therapists, advisors, … have a person they trust. Scale is limited by their calendar. (Oprah Winfrey, Simon Sinek, Marshall Goldsmith)

Technology (SaaS, AI), by-products (books / speaking engagements) etc. can’t scale these much. Changing what they sell (products > procedure > brains) scales.

Of course, what you want to sell matters, and can change over time. I thought I wanted to sell products, but preferred selling brains. I’m now exploring procedure, and might retire with relationships.

Since people use me as a Human-as-an-Interface anyway, I’m going to monetize this. If you’re not paying, you’re the product.

Your question is my data point.
Your confusion is my next blog post.
Your recurring problem is my next software prototype.

Thank you for training my intuition on what the market is too lazy to do itself.