One Month Without AI

A developer shares how using AI coding tools at work became addictive and counterproductive, leading them to lose understanding and control over their codebase despite increased speed and productivity. After a month without AI, they realized the tools made them lazier and worse developers, comparing the dependency to drug addiction, and acknowledged they often don't fully understand the code they're pushing to production. The experience prompted reflection on how AI enables developers to avoid the deeper learning that comes from writing code themselves.