Just Because I Can - Tech Stack and Learnings

II. My Tools and Tech Stack

The modern AI-enabled development stack is a carefully orchestrated symphony of tools, each playing a specific role in the amplification process:

Development Environment:

• v0 - For rapid UI prototyping and component generation
• Cursor - AI-powered code editor that understands context and intent

Core Framework:

• Next.js - Full-stack React framework for modern web applications

Backend Services:

• Supabase - Database, authentication, and real-time features
• Resend - Email delivery and communication
• Railways - Deployment and hosting infrastructure

AI Services:

• Claude - Advanced reasoning and code generation
• Perplexity - Research and information synthesis
• Together AI - Specialized AI model access and experimentation

This stack represents a new paradigm where AI services are first-class citizens alongside traditional development tools. Each component is chosen not just for its individual capabilities, but for how well it integrates with AI-powered workflows.

III. Enterprise Implications

The rise of AI-enabled development presents corporations with a familiar yet amplified challenge: how do you maintain governance and control when your workforce suddenly has superpowers?

The Historical Pattern

We've seen this movie before. In the 1990s, the rise of client-server tools like Microsoft Access and Visual Basic allowed business users to create their own applications, often bypassing IT departments entirely. Desktop databases sprouted like weeds across organizations, creating shadow IT ecosystems that were powerful but largely ungoverned.

More recently, tools like Airtable, Zapier, and other no-code platforms have enabled similar end-user empowerment. Marketing teams build their own CRM systems, operations teams create complex workflow automation, and analysts develop sophisticated data visualization tools – all without traditional IT involvement.

The AI Amplification

AI takes this trend and puts it on steroids. When anyone in your organization can potentially:

• Build custom applications in days rather than months
• Integrate complex APIs without deep technical knowledge
• Create sophisticated data analysis tools through natural language
• Develop automation that previously required dedicated engineering resources

The traditional IT governance model faces its greatest challenge yet.

The Corporate Response

Forward-thinking organizations are already adapting by:

• Embracing Citizen Development: Rather than fighting the trend, they're providing frameworks and guardrails that enable safe experimentation
• Establishing AI Centers of Excellence: Creating specialized teams that can guide AI adoption while maintaining security and compliance standards
• Implementing Federated Governance: Distributing decision-making authority while maintaining centralized oversight of critical systems
• Investing in AI Literacy: Training employees not just to use AI tools, but to understand their limitations and appropriate applications

The New Reality

The genie is out of the bottle. AI has democratized software development in ways that make previous waves of citizen development look quaint by comparison. Organizations that try to suppress this capability will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage against those that learn to harness and channel it effectively.

The question isn't whether AI will transform how work gets done – it's whether organizations will adapt their structures and processes quickly enough to benefit from the transformation rather than be disrupted by it.

Conclusion

The capability multiplier effect of AI isn't just changing what's possible – it's changing who can make it possible. We're entering an era where the limiting factor in digital innovation isn't technical skill or resources, but imagination and execution speed. The organizations and individuals who embrace this shift will find themselves with unprecedented power to turn ideas into reality.

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This post is part of the ongoing series on digital ageism and technology accessibility.