AI is Breeding a Generation of Illiterate Programmers

A seasoned programmer, after a ChatGPT outage, discovered his coding skills had severely deteriorated due to over-reliance on AI. He no longer reads documentation, debugs effectively, or even examines error messages, instead directly copy-pasting AI-generated solutions. This has robbed him of the joy and ability to deeply understand code, diminishing his programming passion. He urges programmers to use AI moderately, practicing regular AI-free coding sessions to avoid becoming dependent on AI and losing the ability to solve problems independently. The article warns that while AI enhances efficiency, it can also lead to skill degradation; a balance must be maintained to stay competitive in the age of AI. Try a day without AI; the results might surprise you.