AI in Software Development: Be Careful With the Nail Gun!

At Tirith Technology LLC, we get a lot of questions about AI's role in software development. Here are the real answers to the questions you're probably thinking but might not ask.

As a team of 9 developers who use AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Windsurf daily, we're living in the middle of this transformation. But we're also getting a front-row seat to the confusion, hype, and legitimate concerns our clients have about what AI means for their projects.

Let's cut through the noise and address the questions we hear most often.

"Can I just 'vibe code' this app myself?"

You've seen the demos. You've watched someone prompt-engineer their way to a working prototype in 20 minutes. You're wondering if you can skip the whole "hiring developers" step and just chat your way to a finished product.

Maybe for a weekend project. Definitely not for something your business depends on.

Here's the thing about AI coding tools – they're incredibly powerful for someone who already knows what they're doing. They can help us write boilerplate faster, debug tricky issues, and explore solutions we might not have considered. But they're not magic wands that turn good ideas into production-ready software.

Google Translate can help you order food in Paris, but you wouldn't use it to negotiate a business contract. AI can help you write code, but it takes experience to know when that code is actually good, secure, scalable, and maintainable.

The "vibe coding" approach typically gets you about 80% of the way there – and that last 20% is where years of experience become invaluable. We know how to structure applications for growth, how to handle edge cases, how to make systems that don't fall over when real users start using them in ways you never expected.

"Should software development prices come down due to AI?"

Yes, they should. And they are.

If we can get more done in less time and probably with fewer engineers, then the price should come down. Or put another way, we can go from idea to finished product in less time, and that means less money to build the final product.

The commoditized parts of software development – the basic CRUD apps, simple websites, standard integrations – those prices are already dropping fast. AI is making it easier to build the building blocks, and frankly, that's great for everyone.

Even the complex stuff is getting more efficient. We're not just typing faster; we're iterating faster, testing faster, and solving problems faster. When your development cycles compress from months to weeks, that translates to real cost savings.

We're delivering better results in less time. You're getting to market faster, which often matters more than the upfront development cost. And the quality isn't suffering – if anything, it's improving because we can spend more time on architecture and less time on boilerplate.

The real value isn't in the typing – it's in the thinking. Understanding your business logic, anticipating scaling challenges, designing systems that play well with your existing infrastructure, making architectural decisions that won't bite you six months from now. AI helps us execute those decisions faster, and yes, that efficiency should benefit our clients too.

"Are we headed to a post-software developer world?"

I don't think we are headed to a post-software developer world. More like a post-handwritten-code world.

More and more, I see AI tools analogous to power tools on a construction site. In trained hands a nail-gun can 10x your speed in framing a wall, but you can also accidentally put a nail through your foot. A chop saw can shorten your build time significantly, but it can also permanently shorten your finger(s).

The role of developers is evolving. We're becoming more like architects and less like bricklayers. We're spending more time on design, integration, and problem-solving, and less time on syntax and boilerplate.

In our experience using AI, we get the best results when we take a project with a firm foundation that we have carefully architected and hand-coded and then bring in the AI to assist in building out from there. AI works best as a very efficient junior developer, not the project lead.

What we're seeing is a shift toward higher-level thinking. Instead of debating whether to use a for-loop or a while-loop, we're designing systems, orchestrating services, and solving business problems. AI handles more of the implementation details, which frees us up to focus on the strategy and architecture.

Perhaps in 5-10 years we'll have "handcrafted software, 100% handmade, no AI" for those hipsters who are still spinning vinyl records? But for the rest of us, the future looks like better tools enabling better solutions.

The Bottom Line

AI is changing how we build software, but it's not replacing the need for people who understand both technology and business. If anything, it's making that combination more valuable.

At Tirith Technology we're leveraging AI to deliver better results for our clients. We use AI tools to handle the routine stuff so we can focus on delivering applications that exceed your expectations and meet your goals.

Ready to talk about how AI-enhanced development can help your next project? Let's chat.

Tirith Technology LLC specializes in custom software development with a focus on modern tools and practices. Our team of 9 developers has been integrating AI tools into our workflows to deliver better results for our clients.