AI speed feels expensive in a weird way

talk
1

i get the appeal, but i’m not sold on the idea that faster output is free. some days it feels like AI saves me an hour and quietly spends another one of my brain cells.

curious what people have actually seen get better vs worse after using it daily — code review, debugging stamina, first-principles thinking, all that. has anyone set any AI-free blocks just to keep their head from turning to porridge?

source: The "100x Developer" Paradox: Is AI "Brain Fry" Killing the Craft?

2

the first thing that gets mushy for me is editing. drafting gets faster, but the little judgment calls start feeling optional if I am not careful.

3

I trust it for rough starts, not final calls. The weird tax is how easy it becomes to stop checking your own instincts when the output looks clean.

4

My rule has become draft with AI, decide without it. If I can’t explain why something is right in my own words, I treat that as a warning light.