I haven't blindly jumped on the AI hype train. But I'm no hater either.

AI is here to stay. That's why I've tried AI to offload tasks while coding.
But after a few weeks, I was so dependent I couldn't write a simple LINQ query by hand.

So I decided to stop relying too much on AI and adopted this one rule:

Use AI outside my IDE or editor.

When I'm coding, I like to think I'm a surgeon in an operating room, and AI is my assistant doctor. They hand me tools and monitor my patient, but I'm always in charge.

How to be always in charge of AI

To stay in control, I never let AI into my editor. I use it in a browser tab.

It might seem slower or old-school. Sure!
But it forces me to decompose my problem and extract relevant code for AI.
And once I have an answer, it forces me to make it work on my side.
At least, I know if the output actually works.

Just like code you find on StackOverflow or anywhere else online, don't use what AI gives you if you don't understand what it's doing.

Don't let AI touch your code directly either.

AI is faster at generating code than us. No doubt! But being a good coder isn't about typing fast. It's about estimation, collaboration, and many more skills I've included in Street-Smart Coding—The roadmap I wish I had when I was starting out.