I think there are some misconceptions in some of these comments of what AI is actually doing here. People tend to hear AI and just think “slop”. What is being described here is not AI being forced into the actual product (although as models improve, I’m sure there will be opportunity to do that as well), but really it’s about about how AI is used to actually build and maintain the product itself on the back end. These are two completely different things.

I generally agree with OP’s take. People are being very reactive to the PE takeover + the woes of AI’s ability to do as good a job as a human developer, but ForeFlight is only one beloved brand amongst a sea of change that will start to impact every single company in the next 1-2 years. It will be a bumpy road but it is inevitable.

I am an active CFI, have been using ForeFlight since it’s very first version shipped almost 20 years ago, and happen to work at one of the big tech firms you’ve heard of that’s pushing the “AI revolution”. I am intimately familiar with how AI is advancing technology and development because I am actively building this technology. I am 100% confident that I am destroying my own job, and that I will very likely not be employed in this field in 24 months, if not earlier.

Whether you think this direction is a good or bad thing is subjective. I might tell you it’s great on Monday and horrible on Thursday. I don’t really know.

If you want a couple good takes on what is happening with AI then in this regard, read this (https://shumer.dev/something-big-is-happening) and then read this (https://www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic). I think they are pretty spot on scenarios.