What I dislike about AI-assisted coding becoming the norm is that it raises the barrier to entry.

I learned to program on cheap Windows and Linux machines. I didn’t need anything else. Those machines were my playgrounds.

Now getting started means a machine plus a $200/month subscription. Cheaper plans exist, but their limits make experimentation and learning hard.

People say agents make programming more accessible. That’s true if you can afford them. For everyone else, it’s less accessible.