AI is making me dumb

Skill atrophy & dependence

• Many feel core skills (coding, writing, navigation in a codebase) are visibly atrophying when AI handles end‑to‑end tasks (“vibe coding”).
• Some report forgetting syntax or even feeling unable to code without AI, especially after long periods of delegating everything.
• Others argue this is just normal “rust” from not practicing, not literal loss of intelligence.

Productivity vs code quality / technical debt

• AI dramatically increases throughput, but often by generating verbose, over‑engineered, or spaghetti code.
• Several describe spending more time refactoring and deleting AI code than they would have spent writing a lean solution.
• Debate exists on whether accidental complexity is now “cheaper” because AI can help maintain it; others warn it will hurt both humans and agents (context limits, debugging complexity).

Impact on learning, juniors & apprenticeship

• Strong concern that juniors using AI from day one won’t build deep mental models, pattern recognition, or “edge‑case creativity.”
• AI accelerates “reading”/theory but can displace the “doing” that builds real skill.
• Onboarding into new codebases with AI can feel faster at first but leads to weaker understanding and confidence.

Emotional & psychological effects

• AI use is described as dopamine‑like: quick gratification makes slower, deeper work feel like a chore.
• People report growing self‑doubt, impostor feelings, and compulsive urges to have AI review or even write everything.
• For some, AI also amplifies avoidance (e.g., asking bots instead of colleagues, worsening social anxiety).

Patterns for “healthy” use

• Use AI as:
  • a tutor/mentor (explaining code, concepts, trade‑offs),
  • a brainstorming/design partner,
  • a generator for boilerplate, tests, refactors, and repetitive variants,
  • a red‑team/reviewer to find flaws.
• Recommended practices: plan first, work in small steps, strict verification/testing, aggressive refactoring, Socratic questioning, and periodic “AI‑free” practice.

Workplace dynamics & job security

• Management often pushes AI for velocity; some devs feel turned into project managers or “intern babysitters.”
• Fears of layoffs and devalued experience coexist with a counter‑view that massive AI‑generated messes will eventually increase demand for competent engineers.

Broader reflections on the craft

• Tension between joy in hand‑crafting code vs. seeing code as mere tooling.
• Concern that AI accelerates a long‑running trend toward shallow thinking and loss of professional pride; others feel AI lets them tackle far harder, more interesting problems.