🤖 I'm Reading More Code Than Writing It
Introduction:
Lately, I've been noticing something more and more on a daily basis. I spend most of my time reading and reviewing AI-generated code rather than actually writing it myself. And honestly? It feels weird. Here I am, 16 years into this career, having worked hard to sharpen my coding skills, and suddenly I'm spending more time understanding code than creating it. It's like being a chef who's now mostly tasting and adjusting recipes that someone else cooked. So naturally, I started wondering: what does it actually mean to be a developer in this AI world we're living in?
Yeah, I know everyone and their dog is talking about AI right now, but well, this is a blog so I wanted to write about it too. Or at least give you something to read with my thoughts on it 😄
💭 Wait, Am I Still a Good Developer?
Let me be real with you for a second. I consider myself a good developer. I'm curious, I learn fast, I cooperate with my team, and I try to bring my experience to every solution I build. But there's this nagging feeling I can't shake. The skills I've spent nearly two decades building can now be replicated by typing a few words into a machine.
That stings a little, not gonna lie.
I've found myself asking: what makes a good developer, really? Is it writing the cleanest code? The most performant algorithms? Knowing every single framework inside and out? Because if that's the bar, well, AI is getting pretty damn close to clearing it. And that's both terrifying and fascinating at the same time.
😰 The Anxiety (and the Confidence)
I'm not going to pretend I don't feel anxious sometimes. I was let go from a job once, and that feeling was terrible. Especially considering I was always praised as a very good engineer. So yeah, when people say "AI will replace us all," that little voice in the back of my head pipes up. What if they're right?
But here's the thing. Despite that anxiety, I feel more confident than I have in years. More curious. More productive. Because engineers who can evolve and use these tools aren't easy to replace. We're problem solvers who happen to use code as one of many tools. Machines won't be able to do everything, at least not yet. Requirements change. Business needs shift. Someone needs to understand the why behind the code, not just the how.
🧩 Understanding Code vs Writing It
Here's what I think is happening, and what that silent meeting moment from my previous post about soft skills reminded me of: understanding code has always been valuable and is now becoming even more valuable than writing it from scratch. And you know what? That's not a bad thing.
When you can read AI-generated code and immediately spot the edge cases it missed, the performance bottlenecks it created, or the business logic it misunderstood, that's expertise. When you can take that code and refine it, knowing exactly which parts need human judgment and which parts are fine as is, that's mastery.
But here's the funny part. Sometimes I catch myself doing something ridiculous. I'll open up the AI and start typing a prompt like "change this button color to blue" and halfway through I'm like... what are you doing man? This is a CSS property. You've been doing this for a long time. You don't need to waste tokens on this hahaha. And that's when it hits me. Dude, you're really reading more than writing now.
Sometimes I even worry I'll forget how to code. Like, will I struggle when I actually need to do it myself? It's a weird feeling.
We're becoming architects and reviewers. We're the ones who know when to trust the AI and when to override it. We understand the context, the constraints, the technical debt, and the long-term vision. The AI doesn't.
As my friend Uncle Ben once said, "With great power comes great responsibility."
🌟 What Makes a Good Developer in 2026 (and Beyond)
So, back to that question: what makes a good developer in the AI world? (personal opinion incoming)
- Curiosity: The willingness to learn how these tools work and how to use them effectively
- Adaptability: Not clinging to "the old ways" just because they're comfortable
- Problem-solving: Understanding the problem deeply, not just the technical solution
- Communication: Translating between business needs, user requirements, and technical implementation
- Critical thinking: Knowing when AI is helpful and when it's leading you astray
- Business understanding: Connecting the dots between code and company goals
- Collaboration: Working with humans (and AI) to build something greater than the sum of its parts
Notice something? Most of these are soft skills.
🤔 Final Thoughts
So yeah, I'm checking more code than I'm writing these days. And I'm still figuring out how I feel about it. But I'm also building better solutions faster, learning new patterns quicker, and solving problems I couldn't have tackled before.
The job is changing. We're changing with it. And honestly? I think that's exactly what being a software engineer has always been about. The core of what we do, solving problems and building things that matter, that's not going anywhere.
And neither are we.
Oh, and before you go – I should mention that I used AI to help structure this article. Not everything, mind you. I wrote the majority of the ideas as notes and paragraphs representing what I actually think and feel. But AI helped me organize those thoughts and turn them into something that reads like a proper article instead of the scattered brain dump it started as.
Why am I telling you this? Because first of all you probably already noticed and second, it perfectly illustrates the point I've been making. AI is here to stay. We can either choose to stay scared, believing it will replace us, or we can use it, embrace it, and keep learning and evolving. I chose the latter. I had the ideas, the experience, the perspective – AI just helped me communicate them better.
That's the partnership. That's the future. And honestly? I'm okay with that.
P.S. Yeah, I recognize AI articles too and I hate those dashes as much as you do. But well, the majority of us don't know how to properly write and we're learning about that too.
If this resonated with you, let's chat about it on Twitter, Threads, or LinkedIn. I'd love to hear how you're navigating this new world. 💻🚀🤖
Still feeling generous? Buy me a coffee and fuel more overthinking sessions like this one! ☕️
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