Eight Months of AI Agents: David Crawshaw’s Joyful Programming

“I am having more fun programming than I ever have.” That’s not a typical quote from someone working through “AI apocalypse” headlines. But David Crawshaw—a Google engineer—sees something different in AI agents: unprecedented creative exploration.

The Core Insight

After eight months of working with AI coding agents, Crawshaw’s perspective is refreshingly optimistic. The tools haven’t replaced his joy in programming—they’ve amplified it. More programs he wanted to write now exist. The barrier to experimentation has dropped dramatically.

His perspective matters because it comes from someone actively using these tools daily, not just speculating about their impact.

Why This Matters

The dominant narrative around AI coding tools is fear: job displacement, skill atrophy, the death of programming. But Crawshaw offers a counter-narrative:

• More exploration: Ideas that would have remained “someday projects” now become reality
• Joy restored: The tedious parts that killed motivation are being automated away
• Curiosity unleashed: When you can quickly test ideas, you ask more questions

This isn’t naive optimism. Crawshaw acknowledges broader concerns about “what the end-game is for intelligence on tap in our society.” But in the “limited domain of writing computer programs,” the experience has been transformative.

Key Takeaways

The fear is understandable—we’ve been trained to see technological change as zero-sum. But the reality may be more nuanced:

• Tools amplify intent: Agents don’t replace programmers; they make programmers more effective
• Exploration > execution: The joy isn’t in typing code; it’s in bringing ideas to life
• Domain matters: For programming specifically, agents have expanded what’s possible

Looking Ahead

The question isn’t whether AI agents will “replace” programmers. It’s whether we’ll embrace the exploration they enable or let fear stop us.

Crawshaw’s joy comes from building. The agents haven’t changed what he loves about programming—they’ve removed barriers to doing more of it.

What’s your relationship with AI coding tools? Fear, joy, or something more complex?

Based on quote from David Crawshaw’s “Eight more months of agents”