AI speeds things up at the beginning. It helps you get unstuck, find answers quickly without jumping through different solutions from internet, write boilerplate, explore ideas faster. But over time I reach for it faster than I probably should. Instead of digging into basic code, I directly jump to AI. I’ve been using it for even basic code searches. AI just makes it easier to outsource thinking. And your understanding of the codebase can get thinner over time.
How is basic code search "thinking". This is not a skill I need to keep around, it used to be a means to an end and now it's a vestige.