Ask HN: Will programmers write more efficient code during the memory shortage?

A simple question on Hacker News — will a memory shortage force programmers to write leaner software — instantly turned into a mini culture war. And honestly? The comments are way juicier than the post itself. The original idea was straightforward: if computer memory becomes harder to get, maybe people will finally care more about smarter ways to build software that uses less of it. But the crowd did not agree on whether that will actually happen.

The strongest take came fast: humans won’t adapt, but artificial intelligence will. One commenter flatly declared, “Programmers won’t, but LLMs will,” turning the whole debate into a roast of modern coders. Another piled on by saying they’ve already ditched Python — a popular coding language — for Go because it tends to use less memory, and now they have their AI tools write that instead. Translation for non-tech readers: some people think the machines may become more disciplined than the people using them.

Then came the old-school grumbling. One especially spicy commenter sneered that today’s programmers barely even know what memory is, while another argued the real problem is that modern software has gotten lazy because the tech world is used to abundance, not limits. And the biggest crowd-pleaser? A complaint that some websites now gobble up as much memory as an entire operating system. That line has big “how is my browser using more juice than my laptop?” energy — and clearly hit a nerve.