Appearing Productive in the Workplace | Hacker News

A Hacker News thread argues that AI is increasingly used to create polished-looking plans and code that make teams appear productive.

The discussion says these outputs are often overengineered, hard to evaluate, and deliver little real value over months of work.

It highlights a form of “AI productivity theater,” where managers and staff may mistake convincing artifacts for actual engineering progress.

The thread warns this can waste money on cloud and compute costs, distort technical decisions, and send false signals of competence to leadership.