Astra for Coding: Why Are We Doing This Again?

Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings Astra for Coding: Why Are We Doing This Again? written on September 07, 2026 I’m more and more convinced that all of AI engineering is Neijuan (内卷, meaning curl inwards). In China it describes a system that demands ever more effort and competition without improving output. The way in which it sometimes shows up in the West is the 996 nonsense. The English ter