a sanctuary free of AI boosters, the Reverse Centaur's Guide to rambling, & what else I'm reading

Summary

Brett Codes explains why he created Human Crafted, an AI-booster-free forum for people discussing software development, coding, design, and the personal or workplace impacts of AI. He felt isolated while navigating expectations to use chatbots and large language models (LLMs), and found few spaces for people with questions or nuanced, mixed views.

Why a forum?

Forums make room for slower, longer-form conversations. They’re publicly readable and can be checked occasionally, unlike fast-moving chat or noisy social-media timelines that demand more attention.

Community and participation

Human Crafted is intended for people who are skeptical of or uncertain about AI—not enthusiastic AI boosters. Existing discussions cover topics such as:

• Handling skepticism about AI at work
• AI-related “doomerism” and its sources
• The craft of engineering

Brett also mentions starting a thread about building an XML parser from scratch.

People can join at humancrafted.dev/forum, introduce themselves, and participate anonymously if they have privacy or workplace concerns. Brett notes that YouTube comments are often difficult to use for substantial discussion.

Books discussed

The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI — Cory Doctorow

Brett finds the book useful for thinking critically about AI, though he disagrees with or remains uncertain about some of its arguments.

• Doctorow argues that criticizing LLMs solely because they are trained on “stolen” data may be ineffective. He also warns that broadly restricting web crawling could harm services such as search engines and the Internet Archive. Brett sees complications—including the effects of scraping on websites and their costs—and isn’t fully persuaded.
• Doctorow distinguishes LLM technology from the companies deploying it, and describes potential human-centered uses such as translation and transcription. Brett appreciates this nuance but questions whether casual uses, such as generating images for D&D campaigns, justify broader environmental, economic, and labor harms.
• Brett doubts that commonly touted applications—such as generated writing and images or faster code production—have demonstrated enough benefit to justify the technology’s costs.

End Times Fascism — Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor

Brett is early in the book but enjoying it. It argues that 21st-century fascism differs from earlier forms while still constituting fascism, and addresses technology and AI.

The AI Con — Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

Brett praises the book as a strong resource on AI’s harms, the industry, and media coverage. Written in 2024 and published in 2025, it predates further intensification of AI developments and hype. Brett plans to discuss it further after finishing it.

Sponsorship and support

Brett says he avoids sponsors, particularly promotions for AI products. Viewers can support his work through YouTube memberships, which include exclusive videos and behind-the-scenes material.

Guides and tutorials

No step-by-step guide or tutorial is presented. The XML-parser thread is mentioned as a learning project.