FOMO and the struggle with AI

Recently, I built this website simply and quickly. I used a girl’s blog source code with a fun design and the source code of a dev I follow and like as a base, but the inspiration and the website are not the focus here. The focus is: for a long time, I avoided using AI with the “vibecode” approach, and that delayed me absurdly.

My mistake

My biggest mistake was spending too much time on Twitter consuming discussions about artificial intelligence. This gave me FOMO and a lot of anxiety. And the mistake is mine, I’m not going to blame random people on Twitter with anime profile pictures who don’t care about me or whom I don’t even know; not knowing how to filter this volume of information was a mistake. From reading so much about the high cost of tokens, premium models, and posts dictating that “if you use AI this way, you’re stupid, outdated, shouldn’t be a dev,” I ended up believing that AI was only viable for those who could spend at least $500 a month and spend whole days testing new “formulas” to use AI, wasting rivers of tokens. The vision Twitter gave me was all or nothing: if you only have $20 to dedicate to it, your result will be pure “AI Slop”, you are wasting your time, and you’re a laughingstock.

But a laughingstock to whom? I’m not famous, well-known, nobody cares about me. And, ironically, this is excellent: if I mess up, no one will see it or criticize me. Only me.

The phrase that unblocked me

I needed a portfolio. I like front-end, but whenever I try to create one, I dedicate a lot of time and in the end, I’m left with a feeling that something is missing, which makes me discouraged to think about creating another one. This block continued until I visited the website of a guy I saw on Twitter and read the following in the footer: “This website was generated by AI. The experience was not.”

That flipped a switch in my head, gave me the necessary momentum to break out of inertia. It made me think that I could try. I thought: “Ah, for real? Screw it. If it’s not with AI’s help, I might not even do it.” And that’s how the website got off the ground. Any result would be valid because the alternative scenario was nothing. I put myself in the position of simply trying.

Doing it anyway

I think it turned out cool. Maybe you don’t like it, have valid criticisms, and that’s fine. Maybe nobody will see the website or read this post, and that’s fine too. As I write this, I remember a story I heard Mano Deyvin telling. I don’t remember it in full, but it was something like: one of the first codes he wrote was to buy a motorcycle. Was the code bad? Probably. Did it cause maintenance issues? For sure. But he went there, did it, and that helped shape the professional he is today.

I also remember a tweet from Sibelius saying that nowadays writing code is much easier than it used to be. And this makes me think that, for me, it’s unacceptable that, because of anxiety, FOMO, and imposter syndrome, I am afraid of writing code or asking AI to write it, at a time when it is so easy to do so.

Retreating out of fear of imaginary judgment or fear of not doing it the 100% correct way is failing.

AI as a tool

I’m not saying I’m going to outsource everything to AI and never think again. I’m saying that AI made me create things that, stuck in perfectionism, I would never create. And at the end of the day, it’s a tool that helps me create things I can’t do alone.

For simple beginner projects, an accessible AI gets the job done. In moments where the choice is “either I use AI or the project doesn’t move forward,” taking that step is essential.

For those in the same position

This text is for anyone in the same position as me: starting out, afraid of looking stupid, thinking it’s not worth subscribing to alternative plans, or afraid of doing more complex projects because you’ll have to trust code you don’t understand 100% (something that still happens today with much more experienced seniors).

Currently, I’m using Abacus for $10/month, a recommendation I got watching Galego’s videos. The variety of models has helped me experiment with different AIs for different tasks. Maybe in a month I’ll change, but today it solves my problem, and that’s what matters. If you’re reading this and think it’s absurd that I don’t use model X, Y, or Z in version 5.5, Ultra, Pro, feel free to pay for a subscription for me.

If you are afraid to start and of what people will think, my tip for you is: just start. You are not that important, nobody cares. And if someone cares enough to criticize you negatively, remember that this person doesn’t pay your bills.

My mistake

The phrase that unblocked me

Doing it anyway

AI as a tool

For those in the same position

Links