Use of artificial intelligence in software development has grown rapidly in recent years, promising faster delivery and higher productivity. But for one techie, it became the reason for losing his job.
In a Reddit post, a techie shared how his colleague was fired for using AI to write code that later caused a production issue.
“Using AI in your job instead of understanding code got my colleague fired,” the caption of the post reads.
Tight deadlines:
According to the post, the techie was skilled in Python, had practised data structures and algorithms, and had also built a solid project during his time at university.
“He was under no circumstances underqualified,” the post adds.
The techie had not worked before and had no idea how to estimate the time needed to complete tasks, so the manager had set timelines for him.
At first, deadlines were generous, and he wrote code by hand. Gradually, timelines became tighter. To keep up, the techie started using AI tools to generate code.
Also Read: Techie who lost ₹32 LPA job turned layoff into a head start: ‘They are paying me to find my next job’
Using AI backfires at work:
According to the post, this was when problems started. When writing code manually, a developer can usually track down the exact line causing an error.
In this case, the techie began understanding code in “chunks”, knowing broadly what a function did, but not fully how it worked.
“AI does not care if the file is fifteen thousand lines wrong. But after a point, it becomes a headache even looking at those files. So, this promotes fixing further bugs via. AI,” the post adds.
The situation reached a breaking point when the team received a Slack call at 11 pm saying something had failed in production. The next day was spent trying to locate and solve the issue.
“Digging through all that was no easy task. But apparently, he had generated some changes via Cursor (coding software) before, and the manager merged it by reviewing it with AI. The guy was promptly fired,” the post adds.
Also Read: Founder cut team from 14 to 5, says AI pivot was best financial move but 'worst emotional experience'
Check out the post here:
Reddit reacts:
Reddit users had mixed reactions to the post. Several said the incident highlighted the dangers of relying too heavily on AI without properly understanding the code.
One of the users commented, “That’s a toxic company if they fired someone for their bug.”
A second user commented, “Firing over a production bug is a red flag. Bro was just a scapegoat.”
“I have a feeling we are going to hear this story a lot more in the coming months,” another user commented.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)