{
  "video_id": "d66cbd6490f7bc62",
  "channel_slug": "simonwillison-net-atom-everything",
  "channel_handle": "simonwillison-net-atom-everything",
  "title": "The solution might be cancelling my AI subscription",
  "url": "https://simonwillison.net/2026/May/31/the-solution-might-be-cancelling-my-ai-subscription/#atom-everything",
  "upload_date": "20260531",
  "published_at": "2026-05-31T16:31:32+00:00",
  "transcript": "The solution might be cancelling my AI subscription I find this post by David Wilson very relatable. David lists 16+ projects he's spun up with AI tooling, and concludes: I didn't mean to build most of these things. Usually the Claude session started with something like \" write a quick script for X \", and one hour later the result is not a quick script for X , nor in the usual case is my problem solved, whatever the original itch happened to be. On that last point, this technology is horrific for attention. It's a thermonuclear ADHD amplifier and I have seen the same effect in every single one of my adult friends. Folk running 3 screens simultaneously working on totally unrelated \"projects\" they have little hope of maintaining, and such little commitment to the outcome that the time is obviously wasted. This is a very real problem. I'm finding that coding agents can take me from a vague idea to a working solution, one with tests and documentation and that looks like a carefully considered project evolved over the course of many weeks... in less than an hour. Even if the code is rock solid, there's a limit to how many projects like that I can sensibly care for - and if they're instantly abandoned, what value was there from creating them in the first place? David doesn't think this is sustainable at all: I have no idea how to manage AI at present except by curtailing use, because a tool producing a cheap reward with minimal input and no friction can only be a liability, and achieving that realisation is probably the only real contribution of AI to date. I'm hopeful that the critical skill to develop here is discipline . That’s not great news for me: I’ve been trying to figure that one out for decades! Interestingly, the Hacker News thread has gathered a number of comments from people with ADHD who are finding agents help them achieve the focus they've been missing: \"... for me (also ADHD) it's kind of the opposite. I'm finishing side projects for the first time ever because I can actually get them working before I get bored of them\" \"As someone with ADHD I feel like AI is a salve for my mind. I used to listen to intense EDM while working. Now I sit in silence and talk to my agents. I maintain inbox zero. I absorb and comment across all relevant projects, even outside my team. I literally feel like I have a support team for the first time.\" \"For those of us prone to hyperfocus, working with AI can provide the kinds of stimulation we crave. I can hardly remember a time when I've felt more engaged with my work, more productive, and more badass.\" Via Hacker News Tags: productivity , ai , generative-ai , llms , coding-agents , ai-misuse",
  "transcript_chars": 2677,
  "ingested_at": "2026-06-01T02:00:27.583160+00:00",
  "source": "rss",
  "yt_meta": {
    "author": null,
    "tags": [
      "productivity",
      "ai",
      "generative-ai",
      "llms",
      "coding-agents",
      "ai-misuse"
    ]
  }
}