Position statement: AI-generated apps

So that I have an artefact that I can send to people, or link to when I want to explain my position, here's how I feel about AI-generated apps. If I've sent you this link, it isn't personal. Please don't take it as such (even though I've written it with a heavy dose of snark). :-)

Before now

Before, nobody could make an app. Well, a handful of really specialised software engineers could. But you couldn't.

So, apps were special. An app that did a thing that you needed it to do was probably worthy of attention. Maybe it wasn't any good, but still: an app! Someone spent hundreds of hours making it. Worth a look.

Everyone can make an app

Now, essentially anyone can make an app. Hey Claude, make an app.

What does that mean for your app, that you made? It means that I'm probably not going to look at it, and you shouldn't expect anyone else to care either. Sorry.

This might be unfair! You might have made The Best App. But so has everyone else. And everyone else wants people to check out their app and, well, you can see how that doesn't scale.

Enjoy your own app

I'm not criticising AI-generated apps. It's amazing that you can make an app. What a time we live in.

But don't expect anyone else to care. They're busy. Making apps.