I created a baby using Claude! In less than a day, actually – in one afternoon!
Some people (the oldies) take nine months, usually! Honestly, very inefficient.
My prompt was simple: โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ. ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ก๐. ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐ฆ.โ
And the product was amazing. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Two ears. Eyes blinked.
Grandma cried! Excellent user feedback!
Then, cuddling againโฆ
The baby smiled beautifully. But only when held upside down.
It crawled early. Unfortunately, only in reverse. It said its first word. โHit Subscribe!โ. And both it’s fists were clenched like, ๐!
At 3 a.m., it screamed nonstop. Was it hungry? Sleepy? Wet diaper? Existential crisis?
That is when we went to the pediatrician. She checked everything, paused, and ordered an X-ray.
The radiologist on seeing the X-ray, fainted!
The pediatrician asked, where is the dad and mom?
I responded, haltingly. “๐ผ ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐๐๐๐ค. ๐ผ๐ก’๐ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ”
She said, โInteresting.โ (I get super worried when a professional says โinteresting!โ)
And showed me the X-ray.
๐ธ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐. ๐ฝ๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ก ๐คโ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ค๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก.
The stomach was somehow connected to the elbow. The left kidney was where the brain should have been. The brain appeared to have slipped down somewhere. And near the ribs, there was an empty space labeled: โTBDโ. The heart was near the butt.
My wife fainted. I scheduled a refactor review.
๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,
The lesson here is, as we adopt AI tools to create new applications and solutions, remember (and this may seem old school, last century, but the principles are foundational)
โช๏ธ AI accelerates code, not everything. The expensive parts – understanding the need, design, verification, maintenance – are still yours.
โช๏ธ A prompt is not a requirements document.
โช๏ธ The architecture is yours. So are the interfaces and interactions. Work on having a documented, expressed design.
โช๏ธ Generate in modules, against interfaces you defined in the design.
โช๏ธ Test against requirements, not against the code. Especially the unhappy paths. And you should know those.
โช๏ธ Never merge what you cannot explain.
โช๏ธ Verify every API and dependency exists and does what you think. Hallucinations compile too – and sometimes they’re booby-trapped.
โช๏ธ Security is a stated requirement and a separate review, never an assumption.
โช๏ธ Use the AI to learn faster, not to learn less. The tool amplifies whatever engineer you are. Be one worth emulating.