Discussion
We need to find a better term than “gas town” syndrome for that break in reality people have when they convince themselves that having countless “agents” at their beck and call will let them perform miracles and “build” like gods
Not specific to coding either
On a related note, as I browse I keep running into newsletters and blogs I used to follow who used to be at least performatively critical of "AI" but are now all-in as true true believers.
@baldur I've been referring to that phenomenon as "Steve Yegge and his polecats", which is probably not what you're after. Agent sickness, maybe?
@baldur I feel like a lot of formaly reasonable people adapted "agentic coding" in mid 2026 with the latest models. Which really made mu unsure if i souldn't at least give it a try.
@baldur I liked "vibe-sickness" but maybe that designates a milder version of this syndrome ?
@baldur I find it curious how a couple „critics” turned into believers around the time Anthropic went for IPO.
@baldur another term might be good, but "Gas Town" will do, 'cos nobody who saw Yegge at this stuff will ever forget it
@davidgerard This is true. That shit-encrusted tyre fire was nothing if not memorable.
And a note related to that:
“Why did you stop following them if they hadn’t fallen into the ‘AI’ trap yet?”
Because the “AI” turn is almost always preceded by a steady increase in fascist dog whistles.
@baldur : As if fascist dog whistles, by themselves, were not a good enough reason to stop following and supporting someone. And instead, just walk right out of that Nazi bar.
@baldur I kinda like “gas town” as the term because it’s really funny-sounding and makes these people sound like they just joined some Flatulence Fraternity, which is in some ways apt.