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Right, nobody needs cabinets or doors because... AI. /s I'm a professional woodworker. One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork,

Right, nobody needs cabinets or doors because... AI. /s I'm a professional woodworker. One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork, built-ins, and cabinetry in homes is a great business. You're likely not exposed to cabinet or architectural woodwork shops that build high-end homes, or that just do renovation for that matter.

wat10000 9mo ago
That’s the point. It used to be something almost everyone bought. Now it’s relegated to high-end luxury. The craft still exists, and you can still do well, but it’s much diminished. It’s not that nobody needs cabinets or doors. It’s that automation, transportation, and economies of scale have made it much cheaper to produce those things with machines in a factory.
bsder 9mo ago
> One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork, built-ins, and cabinetry in homes is a great business. I'd like to see numbers backing that up. My personal impression is that you have a small number of custom woodworkers hustling after an ever smaller number of rich clients. That seems like exactly the same problem.
ivell 9mo ago
A better comparison to Ikea vs Handcraft would be shrinkwrap software vs custom software for companies. With AI, the custom software industry is getting disrupted (if the current trajectory of improvements continue). In case of woodcraft, there is some tangible result that can be appreciated and displayed as art. In case of custom software, there is no such displayability.
- ok_dad 9mo ago
  There are still plenty of industries that won't trust AI generated anything unless it's gone over with a fine tooth comb, or maybe not even then. Devs will still have careers there. I'm talking about medical devices, safety critical systems, etc. In any case, I don't even believe AI gen code will get there anytime soon, but if I'm wrong that's okay too.

wat10000 9mo ago

That’s the point. It used to be something almost everyone bought. Now it’s relegated to high-end luxury. The craft still exists, and you can still do well, but it’s much diminished. It’s not that nobody needs cabinets or doors. It’s that automation, transportation, and economies of scale have made it much cheaper to produce those things with machines in a factory.

bsder 9mo ago

> One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork, built-ins, and cabinetry in homes is a great business. I'd like to see numbers backing that up. My personal impression is that you have a small number of custom woodworkers hustling after an ever smaller number of rich clients. That seems like exactly the same problem.

ivell 9mo ago

A better comparison to Ikea vs Handcraft would be shrinkwrap software vs custom software for companies. With AI, the custom software industry is getting disrupted (if the current trajectory of improvements continue). In case of woodcraft, there is some tangible result that can be appreciated and displayed as art. In case of custom software, there is no such displayability.

ok_dad 9mo ago
There are still plenty of industries that won't trust AI generated anything unless it's gone over with a fine tooth comb, or maybe not even then. Devs will still have careers there. I'm talking about medical devices, safety critical systems, etc. In any case, I don't even believe AI gen code will get there anytime soon, but if I'm wrong that's okay too.