If you feel inadequate in front of artificial intelligence - because you see yourself tinkering away, there’s always something new to learn, it moves too fast - in my opinion that is not a signal that you’re truly inadequate. Quite the opposite: it’s the very sign that you’re putting yourself to the test, that you’re doing the right thing. Because this is basically impostor syndrome.
This came up recently in an interview for Gianluca Testa’s “Business Garage” (it’ll be out soon), where I took part in a small online panel together with Giovanna Panucci. One of the things that surfaced is about people who don’t program and who are now measuring themselves against this AI. You perceive its power, you manage to do things you never imagined you could do, you need the programmer less - but you find yourself facing a completely new world, full of uncertainty, changing fast. And in my opinion that sensation is an indicator that you’re doing it, that you’re growing.
So who is actually inadequate?
The inadequate ones in AI are the people who chatter without doing. The one who brags, the one who leans on smiles and pats on the back and then, in the end, never sits down to measure themselves against these things. That person never has the sense of inadequacy - because they’re a bullshitter, because they just talk and that’s it.
Whereas if you really measure yourself against this stuff, you see how much there is. You see how much there is to understand, how fragmented it all is. And precisely because it’s so fragmented and there’s so much to grasp, it’s not just your own feeling - it’s a feeling everyone has. I have it too, and I’ve been doing this for 20 years. It changes at such a speed that, for example, I feel inadequate when it comes to the applications: figuring out what to actually do with it, even if on the technology side I might be extremely well prepared.
I think everyone feels inadequate about something. And they feel it precisely because they have a bit of humility and a bit of desire to get into the substance. The problem is the person who neglects all this, who doesn’t put themselves on the line, who self-appoints as an expert and carries on spouting nonsense. And it’s incredible how the sharper people are, the more you see them question themselves.
So, folks, always remember: I vibe code and I vibe enjoy.
