The line is simple: healthy use means you understand the output and could have written it yourself, just slower; unhealthy use means you ship code you can't explain or debug. AI should compress the typing, not replace the thinking.
The line is simple: healthy use means you understand the output and could have written it yourself, just slower; unhealthy use means you ship code you can't explain or debug. AI should compress the typing, not replace the thinking.
Never merge what you don't understand. If the AI produces something you can't follow, that's a signal to slow down — ask it to explain the code, ask why it chose this API, or rebuild it in smaller steps until it clicks. Use the AI to learn the thing, not to skip it. The fastest path that leaves you unable to maintain your own system isn't fast at all; it just defers the cost to the worst possible moment.
A good test: could you delete the AI tomorrow and still own this code? If yes, you used it to go faster. If no, you used it to avoid the problem.
Understanding is what makes you accountable for the code. The moment you ship logic you can't reason about, you've lost the ability to debug it, extend it, or judge whether it's even correct — and you've pushed that burden onto reviewers and future maintainers. The compounding danger is skill atrophy: lean on AI to avoid understanding and you stop building the mental models that let you catch its mistakes. Speed that comes with understanding compounds in your favor; speed that comes instead of understanding compounds against you.