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A developer shares their experience coding without AI assistance for 30 days, building apps, scripts, and games while dealing with Linux installations and architecture decisions. Key insights include the addictive nature of AI coding tools, the importance of writing initial code patterns before using AI, relying more on official documentation over Stack Overflow, and concerns about AI-generated content polluting search results. The experiment revealed that while AI has uses for repetitive tasks, developers should handle architecture decisions and library selection themselves to build expertise and make informed technical choices.

I Stopped Using AI To Code For 30 Days

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I went 30 days without using AI to code. Here's what happened.

I went 30 days without using AI to code. Here's what happened.

So back to merely (looks at calendar) 2-4 years ago (depending on when you started using AI co-pilots)

I’ve been working as an AI-free programmer since 1995. Now I appreciate it greatly, but with due caution. AI is just a tool, a machine, an aid to doing things. Obviously, it won’t replace humans, but it could be a great help. However, having to “detox” from it for 30 days means you’ve overused it.

AI is so good at gaslighting us into thinking it’s intelligent and at the same time spit out unverified responses on new topics and hinder a learner’s progress if not used correctly. The worst part is a dev learning a new subject might not realize their initial understanding was polluted with bad information and will eventually reach the “you’re absolutely right!” stage, while being gaslit into thinking they’re receiving information of the highest standards

If you’re letting the bot make decisions for you, you’re already doing it wrong. It should augment your existing knowledge, and that’s it. If it suggests a function, don’t accept it unless you fully understand it. You have the context of the entire application in your head. The bot has a limited window for it. It doesn’t know the implications of the code it writes, and can’t make considerations for context it doesn’t have. That’s why vibe coded apps get hacked so easily.

Ironically, I suspected that would be videos popping out with titles like “I started using AI to code for 30 days, that’s what happened”, not the other way around! HILARIOUS 😂