Elliot Morris argues prototypes no longer work

The author argues that prototypes have lost much of their historical utility and reliability as educational tools and organizational signals due to the rise of AI and LLM-generated code. While traditional prototypes forced engineers to engage with reality and demonstrated technical competence, AI-generated prototypes isolate creators from real-world constraints and fail to provide accurate competence signals. The author suggests that engineers must shift toward crafting highly precise, narrow experimental prototypes with well-defined theses rather than relying on sprawling, one-size-fits-all proofs of concept. Open article →