My work is requiring all developers to “adopt AI” and “not get left behind.” You’re probably looking at the post date and yeah, I agree it’s hard to believe mandates like this are still coming.

I’ll admit it, I generally don’t like generative AI. But even with my gripes, I’m unwilling to say it has no legitimate uses. I use tools like Gemini and Claude from time to time, when it’s appropriate. But ultimately it’s a tool, and it makes 0 sense to measure performance by how much of a tool an individual uses. It’s really no different than using lines of code as a metric.

And how many times do we have to learn this lesson? They say “don’t get left behind” while the headlines have made it pretty clear this approach leads to ballooning AI budgets and no material productivity gains. The fact that someone 9 levels above me in the org tree doesn’t know this leads me to believe his position is redundant. I know, I’m stating the obvious here. But apparently it needs to be said.

The messaging is “we’re tracking how much you’re using it.” I got it, loud and clear. I will just blindly use Claude, whether it makes sense to do so or not. You’re the boss. And when forcing use of a tool in unfitting scenarios leads to a drop in productivity, you can answer for that. I’m sure Gemini will come up with a good excuse for you.