January 27, 2026
Pack beans, not feelings
Ask HN: What's the Point Anymore?
AI panic vs book joy: HN tussles between cabin life and the thrill of the journey
TLDR: A worried user says AI is sucking the soul out of work and art, asking what’s left for humans. The community splits between doomsday prepping, defending the joy of reading, and calling for media literacy, with practical skeptics noting AI summaries often miss the point—this debate shapes how we value creativity.
A gloomy Ask HN post asks, “What’s the point anymore?” as AI creeps into everything—work, art, music, even chores—leaving the poster wondering if human creativity is getting auto-summarized into oblivion. The comments explode into pure internet theater. One camp goes full doomsday, with jjgreen basically saying “pack beans and vanish into the woods.” Another camp fires back with heart-on-sleeve vibes: embedding-shape says the journey matters, not just the spoiler, reminding everyone that reading and art aren’t just info dumps to be skimmed by a robot.
There’s a spicy middle lane: boxed calls out the hype, noting AI summaries are often wrong and that human summaries (hello, Wikipedia) have been around forever. Meanwhile, FrankWilhoit drops a mic: the real skill soon will be telling real from fake, a survival trait in the content flood. And mmarian gives the chill-pill take—this panic happens every tech cycle, from photography to computers; follow your interests and you’ll find human-sized problems worth solving.
Cue memes: forest survival kit vs book-club stickers, “spoiler-bots” vs story lovers, and media literacy as the new VIP pass. The thread’s mood swings from “end of everything” to “bring back vibes,” and it’s wildly entertaining.
Key Points
- •The author claims managers are pushing increased use of AI, prioritizing shipping over software reliability.
- •They argue AI is displacing creative outputs such as art, music, books, and personal websites.
- •The post contends AI summaries reduce the incentive to read original content, citing Google’s AI Summary feature.
- •AI assistants are described as automating day-to-day chores, raising concerns about remaining human activities.
- •The author questions how people will earn money in a future where AI replaces most work and asks the community for direction.