When you hear stories out in the wild that sound like the prevailing AI hyper-productivity narrative they often have unexpected twists in unexpected places. What follows is a story that paints this picture perfectly. As odd as it is in some ways, in others it is quite typical
Below is a true story about a friend with some details blurred out...
Person A has a hobbyist interest in web development but works in a completely different industry. He heard about vibe coding, decided to take Claude Code for a test drive, and was immediately enraptured. Among other things, he vibe coded his own bespoke CRM for work and this small detail alone is surprisingly common.
Shortly after discovering Claude Code, he was scheduled to take a cruise with his girlfriend. There were plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy various attractions, but what he really wanted to do was continue vibe coding on his phone. His girlfriend wanted to go dancing, and Person A didn’t want to get in trouble for vibe coding on the dance floor, so he needed a cover.
The solution? He decided to build an ERP system to make his girlfriend’s job easier. Her job is at a mostly blue-collar, supply chain -oriented business where she holds sales and administrative responsibilities. By the end of the cruise Person A had successfully built an ERP system from the cruise ship dance floors and one that this business might actually start using.
This is a business large enough to benefit from an ERP system, but one small enough to end up without one. Because Claude Code is fun and accessible to hobbyists, this business suddenly had software that could make a real difference.
Some of us will immediately think of potential horror stories around security, compliance, etc. and it's certainly possible. Relative to the common conversation around those risks, though, the jobs of present software engineers were not significantly altered. It’s essentially a comically inexpensive software engineering service delivered to a business that otherwise wouldn’t have had access to the product.
AI discussion often orbits large corporations and after all, they are the ones with money to buy tools. However, if the turbo-productivity narrative is real, it seems to be happening elsewhere: among people who weren’t experts before, on the margins of confidence certain skills, suddenly able to function constructively in ways they didn't before. It’s happening at small organizations or even among individuals, often spontaneously, and it’s fascinating.
The AI productivity revolution? It’s not in the boardroom. It’s on a cruise dance floor.