I write in Python, and I used to Google everything myself, but now I've tried Claude and ChatGPT for generating functions. It works well, but I'm worried I'm losing my skills. Should I rely on neural networks when developing code or does it just ruin a programmer?
I tried neural networks not on code, but on similar tasks where you need to quickly put together something that works, and I noticed: if you just copy-paste the result and move on, problems pop up later. But if you use them as an assistant - you ask it to generate a function, then carefully figure out what's written there, rewrite it in your own style, add error handling - then it saves time on routine stuff, and you keep your skills anyway. The key is that you have to understand what the neural network gave you, not blindly trust it.
In practice, I'd advise against using AI for simple things you can easily write yourself. For those, googling or documentation works faster, and you learn. But for complex multi-line functions, refactoring a big chunk of code, or when you need to remember the syntax of some rarely-used library - there a neural network really speeds things up. The main thing is to check it for errors and test it afterward.
The fear of losing your skills is justified, but only if you completely rely on it. If you're critical of what Claude writes, check the logic and still care about how it works - no problem. Sooner or later, AI assistants will become a regular tool like Stack Overflow, just more convenient.
Log into answer.
