Why LLM-Powered Programming Is More Mech Suit Than Artificial Human

Summary

Photo by Screen Rant [ED: There’s a lot of talk of replacing human programmers. Sure, some will go, but not all. My views on how this plays out have changed considerably over the last 2 months. 3 out of 5 hats.] Why LLM-Powered Programming is More Mech Suit Than Artificial Human Last month, I used Claude Code to build two apps: an MVP for a non-trivial backend agent processing platform and the early workings of a reasonably complex frontend for a B2C SaaS product. Together, these projects generated approximately 30k lines of code (and about the same amount again thrown away over the course of the exercise). The experience taught me something important about AI and software development that contradicts much of the current narrative. The Mech Suit Programmer Remember Ripley’s final showdown with the Xenomorph Queen in Aliens? She straps into the Power Loader—an industrial exoskeleton that amplifies her strength and capabilities. The suit doesn’t replace Ripley; it transforms her into something far more powerful than either human or machine alone. This is exactly how tools like Claude Code work in practice. They’re not replacement programmers; they’re amplifiers of what I can already do. That backend project? It would’ve taken me months the old way. With Claude Code, I knocked out the core in weeks. But let’s be clear - I wasn’t just describing what I wanted and watching magic happen. Think of Ripley controlling that Power Loader. Claude Code gave me tremendous lifting power while I maintained control of where we were going. I made all the architectural calls, set the quality bar, and kept us on vision. Most importantly, I had to watch - diligently - for it going off the rails. And when it did (which happened regularly), I had to bring it back into line. The AI cranked out implementation details at incredible speed, but the brain behind the operation? Still mine, and constantly engaged. Vigilance Required With great power comes great responsibility. You must maintain c...