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Arcade Blog

Essays on AI productivity, engineering culture, and what the data actually says.

5 essays

  1. 1.
    The Photograph of a River

    Every AI productivity study is a photograph of a river. By the time you develop the film, the water has moved.

  2. 2.
    Why AI Helps Juniors and Slows Down Seniors

    The experience gap in AI-assisted coding isn't a bug in the tools. It's a feature of expertise itself.

  3. 3.
    The Hidden Tax on Senior Engineers

    AI didn't reduce the demand on your best engineers. It redirected it. 6.5% more code reviewed. 19% less original work.

  4. 4.
    Volume Is Not Velocity

    We're writing more code than ever. We're also duplicating more, refactoring less, and quietly degrading the thing we're building.

  5. 5.
    Why the 10% Productivity Plateau Should Worry You

    Adoption went up. AI-authored code went up. Gains flatlined. The bottleneck was never the tools.