After months of coding with LLMs, I'm going back to using my brain

The page features an article by Alberto Fortin discussing his shift in coding approach due to AI tools, emphasizing the importance of maintaining mental sharpness, and advocating for balanced AI use. It highlights frustrations with AI inconsistencies, the value of traditional skills, and concerns about AI's impact on non-coders. The author encourages self-reliance and critical use of AI tools for learning and improvements.

This article reflects on the author's experience using large language models (LLMs) for coding and the challenges that emerged. Here are the key points:

Early Success but Growing Frustrations: Initially, LLMs helped speed up coding, but over time, inconsistencies and inefficiencies in the generated code became apparent.
Messy Code Structure: Despite feeding detailed context to the AI, the resulting code lacked consistency, leading to debugging difficulties.
Stepping Back to Learn: The author shifted focus to learning Go and ClickHouse properly, reviewing and rewriting problematic code sections.
Adjusting AI Usage: Instead of relying on AI for entire features, the author now uses it for smaller tasks, like renaming variables or converting pseudo-code.
Concerns About Mental Sharpness: Overuse of AI led to a decline in problem-solving skills, prompting a return to manual coding and planning with pen and paper.
AI as an Assistant, Not a Replacement: The author advocates for using AI as a supportive tool rather than a primary driver in software development.
Challenges for Non-Coders: Non-coders attempting to build complex projects with AI may struggle due to lack of structure and understanding of code fundamentals.
Skepticism About AI Benchmarks: AI models often produce inconsistent results, leading to frustrations about their reliability and transparency.

The overall takeaway is that while AI coding tools are helpful, they cannot replace thorough understanding, planning, and structured development practices. The author now embraces a "happy medium" where AI complements their workflow rather than dominates it.

Hashtags: #AIDependency #CodingMindset #TechSelfImprovement #AIExperience