A new generation of homers

There have been lots of posts on the cost of implementing AI and the ever reducing cost of adding new features and creating new products.

In one comparison, a post looked at the cost of 4 people in a 1 hour meeting, and came to the conclusion that it was cheaper to get AI to build the feature than it was to have a meeting to discuss it.

Whilst this might be true, the problem with line of thinking is that it leads to “make everything and see what sticks”. As a user when I open an app I can only understand so much at once, if every time I open an app there are 100 new features, I can’t use them all.

In product development there has always been a push for more - and this is usually met with an image of “The Homer” - a car invented by Homer Simpson.

This car symbolises feature creep and lack of a knowledge of customers and judgement. AI is an accelerator, for both our strengths and our weaknesses.

Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away - Antoine de Saint Exupéry