Xiangma: AI tooling stops at the ROI boundary — engineers shift to filling the cracks
ClaudeCodeLog · x · 2026-08-22
Xiangma (founder of Xici) argues engineers will never disappear, but how they work will change: tooling always advances until its ROI drops below human labor, after which more humans are needed to fill the remaining gaps.
His dishwasher analogy: a machine replacing 3 dishwashers is the high-ROI phase, but the odd-shaped pots and scorched pans — the last 5% — would cost ten times more to automate than the first 95%, so keeping one human is cheaper.
He adds that stronger tools expand total industry output: the restaurant serves more guests, creating more edge cases, so you lay off 3 regular dishwashers but hire 2 specialists. For software: AI will absorb standardized coding, but the industry's explosive growth brings boundary cases, system integration, and business understanding that still need humans.
More from AGI Musings
- LLMs Refuse Explicit Content, Erotica May Remain Human-Made — IndraVahan · 2026-08-23
- Consciousness debate ignores architecture: Why AlphaFold isn't 'aware' — bendee983 · 2026-08-23
- Public Opposition to Local Data Centers Soars to 75% in One Year — MatthewBerman · 2026-08-23
- Dropping alignment gradients makes CoT tokens less aligned — davidad · 2026-08-23
- "I'm the API between Claude and my manager": the talent layer is shifting — sanderssays · 2026-08-23
- Economist Brynjolfsson: AI Perfectly Imitating Humans Drives Down Wages — erikbryn · 2026-08-23