The Constants

Software feels ephemeral lately. Frameworks fade faster; features that took weeks now take minutes. When creation becomes instant, the output feels disposable.

But as the cost of code drops to zero, the value of everything else goes up. Here is what survives when building becomes trivial.

Intent

AI answers how, never why. A project built just because it was easy to start usually dies just as easily. The scarcity has shifted from production to curation. The real work is no longer writing the code; it is deciding what not to build.

Simplicity

AI is excellent at generating complexity, but terrible at living with it. Complex systems are easy to spawn and a nightmare to inherit. Simple systems remain the only ones we can truly reason about, fix, and hand off to our future selves.

The Cost of Shortcuts

There is a difference between delivering software and living with it. AI makes shortcuts cheaper to take, but it doesn't lower the interest rate on technical debt. If you own the maintenance, you still pay for every compromise.

Taste

When options are infinite, restraint becomes the product. Taste isn't magic; it is the sum of boring decisions—spacing, naming, defaults, and knowing when to stop. These are the quiet signals that separate software that works from software that lasts.

Time

Longevity is rarely about the smartest launch. It is about the patience to keep the lights on. Boring technology and stable choices create the quiet necessary to survive the hype cycle.

None of this is new. It is just easy to forget when building feels like magic.