Thing is, the ones who use ai to code large segments of code, don't usually know how it works in sufficient detail. Even the block diagram is done by ai with little oversight. The fix is simply to ask the ai to do over.

I ask the bizfolks: would YOU allow a guy in a suit with no prior engineering knowledge, but with an ai design the structural elements for a bridge for thousands of vehicles a day? So why would you allow that when developing software that is critical for handling your enterprise data and finances?

I feel like this is the difference between the people who became developers for the craft and developers who became one just for the job

If you're just doing it as a job, you tend to just want to get stuff done, as long as it works

If you became one for the art of the craft, you now feel the things described in the post. You don't create anymore, you just delegate and code review. The LLM code might even be perfectly fine. But you don't create, and it's just tiring

Lawyer up. Meanwhile, just keep doing what you're doing. I refuse to believe living on a farm counts as a side job, especially since it's not for meaningful profit, especially since it's not the same line of work.

Wow, I'm so angry for you. But your wife would not be happy to lose you, so don't tell yourself you'd be doing her a favor by dying.

It sounds like you're in an impossible situation, and it truly is a bind, but have you explored whether you have any legal recourse? Your company set you up to fail by making promises they didn't keep. Do you have those promises in writing? Emails, texts, contract terms, anything?

Is your wife Japanese? If so, she can help you communicate with a lawyer. I know Japanese law is very neoliberal and pro-corporation, but this seems like exceptional circumstances so it would be worth at least looking into.

In any case, breathe. Whatever comes, you still need oxygen.

I'm sorry for your situation. Other comments have pointed out that legally you don't have to comply with the "no side job" bs, so i agree to keep proceeding with it, and if they try to fire you, bring in the lawyers.

On another note, stories like yours are why I want to watch the entire system burn, using executives as fuel for the fire.

Better to resist and flip the bird to these asshats rather than comply in advance.

Good luck to you, keep fighting, and never give up, if only to spite the bastards

I wish I could help more, but the old "side jobs are forbidden" being in the company handbook is legally flimsy, if not completely unenforceable. Just because your company says so, or it's in your contact doesn't actually make it legal.

The MHLW states that it actually has to provably interfere with your job in some way. The hours outside your day job are your own, not your companies. Don't close your kojinjigyo and just submit your own tax adjustment every year. Unless you're making lots of money your HR won't even know.

People have already given you good advice, so I'll give you a less than stellar advice: don't become statistics, every year lots of people kill themselves due to their work or die of overworking in Japan and nobody gives a fuck. You're not the wrong person here, so why would you suffer by yourself? If you're fucked either way and has nothing else to lose, do something real about it. I saw your comments about getting sued, does it matter? Bro, you were considering taking your own life, justice matters more. If you think you still have shit to lose, then don't even entertain taking your own life.

With your backend skills in golang, is there any business you can start on your own? Do you guys have savings that would allow you to live for a while without your main work? Don't give up, bro. As long as there's still some alternatives, keep going. And, please, if you and your wife truly do love each other, go talk to her about this.

I’m nobody in your story, but you’re now somebody in mine, because this is so relatable. I can only commiserate with you, but I can’t fully understand the stress you must be under. My employer is doing much the same, and it breaks my heart how many people around the world are or are about to be in similar situations.

The crushing weight of executives not giving a fuck about the harm they are causing is both enraging and deeply saddening.

But what makes life worth living is a moving target. I have, a few times, seen no light in the dark. But then, somehow I crawl back out and see all the reasons I still want to be here. I hope you find a way to okay. If nothing else, “I want to watch it all go down. I want to see the world give way.”

Contact some social media ppl (like https://m.youtube.com/@AbroadinJapan) and publicly shame your company, they broke their agreements. They lied. It's not you that is at fault, so it's not you that should suffer.

I'm very sorry for your situation. Please do not let these fuckers decide what you are worth, and leash you.

Your wife loves you, and you are more important to everyone around you than to your company. Live for your love, and your friends. Even if your life has to change a little, that's not the end.

make your way out of that company painful. Point fingers, humiliate them, politely. Call the media, do the drama, make them feel ashamed.

Best of luck, do not quit life, you are bigger than them.

I am sorry for your situation. Since you entertained the idea of killing yourself, I strongly believe you should consult an expert or a doctor. As others mentioned: The people around love you and do care about you.

This is the way to keep being attached to what you create. Noone can force you to use AI for your own stuff. And if corporate life does get unbearable, there's still the path of trying to sell your own software. Not using LLMs for that is a big plus nowadays in the eyes of costumers too.

I think this is part of the reason for the massive explosion - close to cambrian proportions - in the indie games market in the last years. It gives people a creative outlet and if it goes well (sadly that is not often the case - yet. Steam has been experimenting heavily on matching the right player with the right game which has already made some impact in actual sale numbers from what i read, and the fruits of this experimentation are bound to come into play next year), it might pay the bills.

Edit: Here's Steams announcement where the are replacing curated slots with ones personalized to the account: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/676258795703240952

Sadly, I'm way more burned out than Pre-AI and I was a bit before then. (So I guess it just sped up the pace).

I have no desire to come home and work on personal software or devops projects. My Homelab sits in the same state it was since the last real vacation I had. Corporate/industry work has removed all desire for personal development work.

I've started my own project a few months ago (fully free mobile game on Android and iOS), it can be a fun hobby, but when it's not so fun you burn out even quicker. So I guess it depends on if it's just a small project for yourself or if you make it public..

cyber is suffering badly as IT, and tech from what ive heard.

Seems like cyber security is the new hot thing now