Burnout 2026

No, this post is not about a Burnout game. It’s about generative AI.

Well, not strictly gen-AI, but Large Language Models.

Well, not necessarily LLMs, but internet buzz around both of them.

At first, I wanted to write a post on my thoughts about LLMs, constant deem of disclosure¹, and how it affected me in the past year or so. After trying to write that post for like three times and being unsatisfied with it, I decided to write this instead:

I’m tired.

LLMs entered our lives like a storm and made things different. Web search got worse, content on the web got more useless than it ever was, people’s interactions changed in a way I don’t enjoy.

I was never a fan of computers - in fact, for the past 30 years of me using computers, maybe only the first 10 were inspiring. Back then, computers were fun. Windows 95 just released, and it was the first operating system I ever saw. Internet soon became available to me, with early, crude, social networks, where people were sharing their art and games, writing non-trivial blog posts. And it all just went downhill from there.

Yes, all this still exists today, and smaller communities are still fun, but lately, most communities I participate in have been affected by the advent of LLMs/gen-AI in one way or another.

Musical communities now suffer from AI-generated music, accusations of using AI, sometimes false, sometimes true. Software communities too are affected by LLM-related accusations, gatekeeping increased (we don’t want you here, you use LLMs, etc). Both communities suffer from bloat created by gen-AIs/LLMs, that you now need to go through to find something worth your time, whether it’s AI-generated or not.

And, you see, I never considered myself great at either of these hobbies. My music composition skills are next to none, ability to play guitar stuck at pre-intermediate level at best for many years. Programming also never was my strongest feat - I have some skills I’m confident in, but I’m well aware that I lack a lot of other important skills.

And now there’s gen-AI that easily beats me in both areas. This, I think, was the final nail into the “I wanna be good at <insert-hobby>” coffin for me. Last few months I was extremely discouraged of doing anything, actually.

Well, I guess it depends on perspective, and how you generally interpret what life gives you. Some may say: “Well, if AI beats you at <thing>, you just need to improve, now that’s a great motivation for you!”. And yeah, you can think that way, but I can’t say so for myself.

I don’t have a strong position on AI/LLMs usage, although I’m more on the negative side, given how they affected communities I enjoy being part of. In fact, me trying to write the post I mentioned above was a way of figuring out where I stand on this topic. One part of me is saying: it’s just a tool - if it helps you achieve what you want, bring your vision to life, express yourself, then just use it. The other part, which I arguably favor more, tells me that this is cheating, unethical, and worse in the long run.

Recently, I started jamming with my friends. This was a breath of fresh air, because my involvement in musical communities became physical, and not just internet-based. I was practicing constantly for the last week for the next session - a far better motivation than beating gen-AI music, in my opinion. Maybe I just need something like this for programming?

Right now, however, I just can’t do much programming as my hobby anymore. Last bits of my motivation went into ClojureFnl, but then I hit a brickwall, and mindlessly consulted an LLM for guidance. Upon realization of what I did, I decided to put the project away for an unforeseeable future. At least until I figure out my stance on LLM usage. Honestly, I don’t want to touch most of my projects right now for various reasons.

At times, I was thinking about quitting programming as a hobby entirely.

This is a second burnout I felt during my career, the first one happening in 2024. Maybe it’s time to focus on my other hobbies more, granted I don’t spend as much spare time looking at code now. Maybe it’s time to use the internet less.