#263 - They're Lying to You About AI Productivity: Hype vs Reality for Coders

Maybe I'm just coping.

Maybe.

I’ve been pretty vocal about the over-hype of AI coding tools and I always get the same responses from AI bros:

“YoU gOtta PrOmpt bEtteR!”

“This iz a skillz issue dawg”“I’m using [x] and it works perfectly”

“I’m a super duper senior architect and I’ve replaced my entire team with AI agents. You’re coping.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t doubt myself.

Maybe they’re right, maybe I’m just not using these tools correctly.

Let’s take a look at some big fax and small fax to understand where the truth ends and the hype begins.

Sources: 

TrueUp Software Engineering Job Trends (June 2025)

Business Insider: Google engineers just 10% more productive with AI (June 2025)

Computerworld: Minimal productivity gains from AI chatbots

 TechRepublic: IBM Study on AI ROI (2025)

https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/

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