I thought of a good metaphor for how I feel about those that continually push for the adoption of ai coding tools. It's akin to mechanical vs. electric windows in vehicles. Yes, you can roll up your windows faster with electric windows. You could even roll up windows on the other doors throughout the vehicle, something you couldn't do before. It isn't really necessary, but it is neat. That being said, I still prefer mechanical over electric windows in my own car, as they are more reliable in the long term. There is no worrying about electric failure, they are easier to repair, and it's not really that much friction to roll up a window the old fashion way. Moreover, there is nothing about it that affects how the vehicle drives. It really has nothing to do with my ability as a driver, it's just a specific task that might be a little faster to do, but I can drive just fine without it. Now imagine a world where running electric windows cost double your car payments, and drivers everywhere where convinced that you can only drive correctly if you have electric windows. Imagine car guys constantly yelling at you that you can't drive well unless you have electic windows, and that your car isn't powerful at all with mechanical ones. That's what the AI coding delusion feels like to those who actually care about their craft as a programmer. Yes, ignoring all ethical, environmental, and economic issues there are some very simple and specific tasks that you can automate with some of these tools. So what? What does that have to do with software engineering? How does that allow me to understand, maintain, and explain my code? To architect better more reliable systems? To communicate better within my team and write better documentation? It has nothing to do with any of that. It is all a distraction by lazy hacks who do not want to do the hard labor that is actually required in cultivating their skills as an engineer. They would rather fiddle with their electic windows while their engine is on fire, pretending they are a formula-1 driver because a chatbot told them that they are.