The Principal Engineer

Slowing down to go faster

Using Claude, Copilot and other tools lets us build faster, but faster is not always more sustainable. In recent weeks, I've found myself slowing down…

Jul 22 • Wille Faler

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Antipatterns of Software Engineering with AI

I am a big believer in AI coding agents, but I have seen people fall into some terrible traps: comprehension debt, building too much in one go (yes…

Jul 17 • Wille Faler

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June 2026

AI and the illusion of velocity: fixing the value stream first

AI coding has been at the forefront lately, but everyone keeps missing the elephant in the room: there is a much bigger lever to pull for productivity…

Jun 15 • Wille Faler

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AI engineering for production: the discipline we keep avoiding

The new AI app ships to applause. Then the questions start rolling in: why has the API bill tripled, and why is compliance on the phone? Turns out…

Jun 3 • Wille Faler

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March 2026

The Industrial Revolution of Software Engineering

The untold truth about Software Engineering: it was never engineering, it was always an artisan craft. Until now. Current developments are finally…

Mar 10 • Wille Faler

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The end of labor arbitrage: why AI economics is killing Offshoring

Conventional wisdom is you save on software engineering by offshoring to low-cost locations. But token-economics is about to kill geographic labor…

Mar 7 • Wille Faler

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February 2026

The 7 Levels of Software Engineering with AI

I believe there are currently 7 levels of progression when it comes to Software Engineering with AI. In this post, we will explore what they are, and…

Feb 21 • Wille Faler

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Software Engineering with AI: Beyond Vibe-Coding

Since I last wrote about how I use AI for software engineering in 2024, almost everything has changed. Again. Software engineering is forever changed…

Feb 8 • Wille Faler

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May 2025

The limits and possibilities of AI Assistants

The discourse on AI-generated code is stuck in a false dichotomy peddled by both proponents and detractors.

May 2, 2025 • Wille Faler

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January 2025

Generative AI will displace fewer jobs than you think

The current generation of AI is productivity boosting, but will ultimately fall short of expectations without significant, unknown scientific…

Jan 13, 2025 • Wille Faler

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December 2024

AI and the coming boom in demand for Human Intelligence

History teaches us that AI will increase, not decrease, the demand for human intelligence. Mostly so in skilled professions that are the most impacted…

Dec 30, 2024 • Wille Faler

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How I use AI to boost my Software Engineering productivity

AI still hallucinates, generates slop, and can't reason about the big picture. But it's still an incredible productivity tool for software engineers…

Dec 17, 2024 • Wille Faler

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