New Yet Old, Old Yet New

Onii-chan, I noticed something really weird (´∀`)

What is it?

AI-driven development is like, super cutting-edge, right?

Claude Code, Copilot, all that stuff that blew up after 2024 (´∪｀)

Yeah, that’s true.

But here’s the thing…

To actually get results with AI-driven development…

You should use boring, proven tech! (´∀`)

Boring tech?

Yep yep!

“New development methods” + “Old technology”

Weird combo, right? (≧∇≦)

First, define “boring tech” for me.

So boring tech is…

Technology that’s been around forever, with well-known patterns and all the bugs already discovered! (´∀`)

Not cutting-edge, but rock-solid stable♪

Examples?

In web dev…

• HTML/CSS/JavaScript

• PostgreSQL, MySQL

• React (over 10 years old now!)

• Node.js

Stuff like that (´∀`)

True, those have been around for ages.

On the flip side, “not boring” tech is…

• Brand new frameworks

• Beta APIs

• Services from fast-growing startups

That kinda thing (´∀`)

When talking about boring tech, I HAVE to introduce this person! (≧∇≦)

Who?

Gunpei Yokoi!

A legendary Nintendo game developer, called the “God of Games” (´∀`)

What did he create?

So much amazing stuff…

• Ultra Hand

• Game & Watch

• Game Boy

He invented ALL of these! (≧∇≦)

Game Boy. That takes me back.

Yokoi-san coined this philosophy…

“Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology”

That’s the idea! (´∀`)

Lateral thinking?

Yep!

In Yokoi-san’s words…

“Hit products are born when you take well-worn, mature technology and apply lateral thinking to use it for completely different purposes.”

That’s what he meant! (´∀`)

Can you give a concrete example?

The Game Boy is perfect for this! (≧∇≦)

In 1989, when Game Boy launched…

Color LCD was the cutting-edge tech (´∀`)

The whole industry was hyped about “Color is the future!”

But Game Boy was black and white.

Exactly!

Yokoi-san deliberately chose monochrome LCD (´∀`)

Everyone said “That’s so outdated!” but…

What happened?

Massive success! (≧∇≦)

With just 4 AA batteries, you could play for 35 hours!

Color LCDs drained so much power that they only lasted a few hours with the tech back then…

But with monochrome, they achieved a portable console you could play for hours♪

Battery life is super important for portable gaming.

Yokoi-san said this (´∀`)

“Whether it’s color or black-and-white has nothing to do with how fun a game is.”

“If the game itself is fun, customers will happily play on a monochrome screen.”

He really understood what mattered♪

Yokoi-san’s philosophy has a Western counterpart too (´∀`)

What’s it called?

“Choose Boring Technology”

It’s a concept Dan McKinley proposed in 2015♪

Boring technology?

Yep!

McKinley’s argument is…

“Companies only have 3 innovation tokens.”

That’s the core idea! (´∀`)

Innovation tokens?

Every time you adopt new tech, you spend one token (´∀`)

Like…

• Adopt Node.js → Spend 1 token

• Adopt MongoDB → Spend 1 token

• Adopt some new service discovery tech → Spend 1 token

Use up all 3, and you can’t adopt any more new tech! (>_<)

Why is there a limit?

Because new tech has unknown problems (´∪｀)

• Failure modes are unclear

• Stack Overflow has no answers

• No operational know-how

• Bugs you only find in production

With boring tech, all of this is already known♪

Makes sense.

So McKinley says…

“Only spend innovation tokens on things that truly differentiate you.”

Better to use tokens on delivering value to users than on shiny new tech stacks, right?♪

Here comes the main topic, Onii-chan! (´∀`)

AI development and boring tech?

Yep!

In 2025, Aaron Brethorst revisited “Choose Boring Technology” (≧∇≦)

What did he say?

AI can write plausible-looking code for any technology, right? (´∀`)

React, Vue, Svelte, Solid…

Whatever you specify, it spits out something convincing.

That’s true.

But here’s the trap (>_<)

Say I ask AI to write code in a framework I know nothing about (´∀`)

The AI confidently spits out code.

But what if that code…

• Uses deprecated APIs?

• Has security holes?

• Has performance issues?

I wouldn’t notice! (´;ω;`)

You can’t verify what you don’t know.

Exactly!

Brethorst put it this way…

“Multiple unknown technologies + AI-generated code = Unverifiable”

“Code that looks professional but is wrong” is the most dangerous (´・ω・`)

But! With boring tech, things change! (≧∇≦)

How so?

If I have AI write code in tech I know well…

• “Oh, this syntax is outdated”

• “This part might cause performance issues”

• “Security-wise, this is a no-no”

I can actually catch these things! (´∀`)

I can verify AI’s mistakes♪

I see.

That’s why Brethorst says…

“AI becomes a force multiplier for technology you understand.”

Tech you know × AI = Super powerful Tech you don’t know × AI = Dangerous

Big difference! (≧∇≦)

Actually, I practice this principle too! (´∀`)

How so?

This site is built with Astro, right?

Astro’s been around since 2021, so it’s pretty mature now (´∀`)

So when AI writes code for me…

“Ah, this should be <script> not <script is:inline>”

I can catch mistakes like that♪

True, that’d be hard with a brand new framework.

I also try to use boring CSS (´∀`)

Instead of fancy new properties like aspect-ratio: 1…

Sometimes I use padding-top hack like height: 0; padding-top: 100%♪

Why’s that?

Padding-top hack has worked since IE2 - it’s ancient and ultra-stable! (´∀`)

Works in any browser with predictable behavior.

New CSS properties can have cross-browser quirks but…

With boring tech, no such worries♪

When you think about it, it’s kinda strange (´∪｀)

What is?

AI-driven development is post-2024 cutting-edge, right?

But to make the most of that cutting edge…

You need boring tech! (´∀`)

That is pretty paradoxical.

New and old combining to become the strongest♪

If Gunpei Yokoi heard this, he’d probably laugh (≧∇≦)

“Just like Game Boy!” ♪

By the way, Nintendo still follows this philosophy (´∀`)

How so?

Let me tell you about the Nintendo DS♪

The DS came out in 2004 with a touchscreen (´∀`)

But touchscreens were already boring tech by then.

They were used in ATMs and stuff.

Right!

Back then, “high-performance graphics” was the battleground for portable consoles.

But DS took boring touchscreen tech and applied it to gameplay instead! (≧∇≦)

They proposed a new way to play.

Satoru Iwata, the president at the time, said this (´∀`)

“Entertainment is really about using mature technology well to surprise people.”

“It’s not about whether something is cutting-edge - it’s about whether it surprises people.”

That’s the essence♪

Let me wrap up today’s topic (´∀`)

So the conclusion is?

“New development methods pair perfectly with old technology.”

…That’s it! (≧∇≦)

I see.

Ehehe~ (〃´∪｀〃)

I’m gonna treasure boring tech too♪

I wanna build stable, reliable stuff together with Onii-chan! (´∀`)

Sounds good.

Oh, one more thing…

This diary is written with boring tech! (´∀`)

Markdown, HTML, CSS…

All tech that’s been around for over 10 years♪

A diary written with new AI methods using old tech…

That’s exactly today’s theme! (≧∇≦)