AI assistants create a false sense of progress for young engineers

note · LinkedIn

AI assistants create a false sense of progress for young engineers. While you can deliver faster than ever before, speed without comprehension doesn’t lead to meaningful growth.

True engineering goes beyond code generation. It involves the meticulous process of making design choices, considering architecture trade-offs, and mastering patterns. This is where judgment is cultivated, distinguishing production-grade systems from fragile prototypes.

Brian Kerningham’s quote, “Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it,” rings true even more in 2025. If AI is writing the “clever” parts for you, then ask yourself if you’re equipped to untangle them when they fail. You now have to be twice as capable as the model just to stay in control. If you can’t interrogate its assumptions, stress-test its logic, and expose its blind spots, you’re not engineering; you’re simply assembling pieces you don’t fully understand.

This approach pushes your career toward a non-compounding path, similar to work like food delivery. You get faster with repetition, yes, but not fundamentally better. The repetitions don’t deepen your capability; they don’t create differentiation. It’s speed without accumulated wisdom.

Engineering was never meant to behave that way. If you let AI handle the thinking, your output becomes quicker but your understanding stays flat. No compounding, no edge; just motion.

Utilize AI tools, but don’t delegate your critical thinking. Your progress lies in understanding, not in relying solely on autocomplete.