Avoiding Skill Atrophy in the Age of AI (by Addy Osmani)
AIsoftware developmentproductivitylearningcareer
A slightly worrying post on skill atrophy in the AI age. It discusses how over-reliance on AI coding assistants can lead to the decline of core engineering skills like critical thinking and debugging, suggesting ways to use AI as a collaborator rather than a crutch.
A slightly worrying post on skill atrophy in the AI age by Addy Osmani. This is something I’ve thought about before, noticing how easy it is to just let AI do the work, sometimes leading to subpar results or taking longer than doing it myself.
The post raises concerns about critical thinking decline and suggests useful principles:
- Always verify AI output.
- Practice fundamentals manually.
- Try solving problems yourself first, or at least outline a potential solution to benchmark the AI’s result.
- Use AI to augment, not replace, essential skills like debugging and system design.
It’s a good reminder to use AI mindfully to enhance productivity without sacrificing long-term mastery and the core craft of software development.