Why I Stopped Using AI to Write Code

Okay, so I jumped on the AI coding bandwagon like everyone else. I was promised effortless code generation, bug-free programs, and enough free time to finally learn the ukulele. The reality? Let’s just say my ukulele is still gathering dust.

For a while, it was amazing. I could type in a vague description of what I wanted, and bam, lines of code would appear. It felt like magic. I started dreaming of automating my entire job and spending my days on a beach in Bali. But then the cracks started to show.

The first problem was debugging. The AI could write code, sure, but it couldn’t always explain it. When things went wrong (and they always do), I was left staring at a wall of unfamiliar syntax, desperately trying to figure out what the AI was thinking. It was like trying to decipher the ramblings of a genius programmer who only speaks in riddles. I spent more time debugging AI-generated code than I would have spent writing it myself in the first place.

Then there was the issue of customization. The AI was great at churning out boilerplate code, but when I needed something truly unique or tailored to my specific needs, it struggled. I’d end up spending hours tweaking and modifying the AI’s output, only to realize that I could have written it from scratch in half the time. It felt like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

And let’s not forget the ethical considerations. I started to wonder about the AI’s training data. Where did it learn to code? Was it scraping code from open-source projects without proper attribution? Was I inadvertently contributing to copyright infringement by using its output? These questions kept me up at night.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I realized that I was losing my own coding skills. I was becoming too reliant on the AI, and my ability to think critically and solve problems was starting to atrophy. Coding is like a muscle – if you don’t use it, you lose it. I didn’t want to become a code monkey, blindly accepting whatever the AI churned out. I wanted to be a skilled programmer, capable of crafting elegant and efficient solutions to complex problems.

So, I made the decision to ditch the AI and go back to writing code the old-fashioned way. It’s slower, it’s more challenging, and it requires a lot more effort. But it’s also more rewarding, more fulfilling, and ultimately, more empowering.

Don’t get me wrong, I think AI has a place in the world of programming. It can be a useful tool for generating boilerplate code, automating repetitive tasks, and exploring new ideas. But it’s not a replacement for human programmers. We still need skilled, creative, and ethical developers who can understand the underlying principles of coding and craft solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of their users.

And who knows, maybe one day I’ll finally learn to play the ukulele. But for now, I’m happy to be back in the trenches, writing code the hard way.