Originally published on Medium.
AI doesn’t fix your thinking. It reflects it — faster than you expect.
AI Isn’t a Shortcut. It’s a Mirror.
At first, I thought AI tools would speed me up.
And they did — kind of.
But they also made me realize something uncomfortable:
AI doesn’t solve your confusion. It shows it to you.
It’s not a shortcut.
It’s a mirror.
🧠 Garbage In, Garbage Out — But Faster
If I ask vague or sloppy questions, I get vague or sloppy answers.
When I don’t know what I want, AI makes me feel productive — without actually moving forward.
It’s like building a house on a shaky foundation.
No matter how fast you build it, it still collapses.
💻 Real Example
One time I asked ChatGPT to build a notification system in React.
I didn’t think through:
- What types of notifications I needed
- Where they’d come from
- How they’d be dismissed
- What the UX should look like
I got 100 lines of code.
None of it worked the way I wanted — because I didn’t even know what I wanted.
🔍 AI Doesn’t Clarify Your Thinking. It Follows It.
AI doesn’t know when your idea is bad.
It doesn’t stop you and say “wait — that doesn’t make sense.”
It gives you what you ask for, whether you’re ready or not.
✅ So What Works?
Slow down before you prompt.
Think before you ask.Design the system on paper first.
Even a 5-minute sketch helps more than you’d expect.Ask: Would I know how to do this manually?
If not, AI won’t help — it will only hide your confusion behind shiny code.
💡 Final Thoughts
AI doesn’t replace thinking.
It reflects it.
If your thoughts are clear, AI speeds you up.
If your thoughts are chaotic, AI just puts that chaos into code — faster.
The best way to “get better at AI” isn’t learning better prompts.
It’s learning to think clearly.
💬 What About You?
Have you ever realized the problem wasn’t the AI — but your own question?
Let’s talk about it in the comments.
✍️ Written by @denizgokbudak
Frontend developer sharing honest insights on tools, clarity, and real-world dev work.
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