Blogging About Python in the Age of AI
I started writing this blog in 2016. For 5 years, everything I wrote was to learn about new Python libraries and help other Python programmers learn also. It was an exciting time for me to write and share tech and Python stuff I found on the internet. In my first years learning Python, I often frantically googled every error message and read Stack Overflow while working out a new post or building a web app with a new framework. Those days are gone, although I still use Google Search to supplement my Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini assistant queries.
In late 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT. This set off a tidal wave of AI innovation. Nowadays, people are turning less to Google search and more to AI assistants. This includes the people most likely to read this blog, who I assume are Python developers or trying to make a thing with Python. As my readers' behaviors change, so do I need to change as a writer.
This brings me to an interesting thought. When I began this blog, I wrote to learn and remember things I've done in the past. This blog still serves that purpose today. Nonetheless, the way people learn is changing. If I want to remember how to install Django, now I can use AI to recall it. If I'm having problems with pip, I can paste in the error messsage and ask for help fixing it. From 2016-2021, this ability wasn't available. It's a new world now in the ways we consume information and learn.
The tutorial-style writing that used to be common in my blog and others before the AI boom, is now rendered somewhat obsolete. So what will this blog be going forward? It will still be my technical notes and projects. The difference is it will be more focused on my own projects, rather than the details of the libraries themselves. I'll try to focus more on how I applied the libraries to achieve an outcome, rather than rehashing the nuts and bolts of how the libraries I used work.
This is the blog writing pivot that is required in the age of accessible AI assistants. I need to focus more on adding value and experience to my projects. This is my promise to you, studious reader, for this blog going forward. Instead of pumping out tutorial-style articles that easily are replaced by an AI chat, I want to go beyond the tutorial to show application. Expect fewer, higher quality Python related posts with more value added. I hope you enjoy. As always, thanks for reading!