Elephants, Goldfish and the New Golden Age of Software Engineering | by Dave Rensin | Medium
Update: 2026–10–21 — Google has allowed my team and I to open source the AI coding assistant plugin we use internally to follow this methodology. You can learn more at https://egm.dev As I write this in April 2026, it is already clear that Generative AI tools, and Large Language Models (LLMs) specifically, are completely reshaping how we think about and execute our work. This isn’t just a software engineering shift; it touches every single profession. This paper is my account of the past year — the journey my teams and I took, the tough lessons we picked up, and my personal take on what’s coming next. Whether you are already working with AI coding tools or have only just started to poke around with an AI chatbot, I hope you will take something away from this that will help you think about the role of AI in your work and how you might use it to make yourself more productive and valuable. Regardless of your starting point, let me say two things in a loud and clear voice: This paper has t