6 min readAI Dev Review
When not to use AI coding tools
Some tasks are still faster, safer, and cheaper without AI. Here's the list we keep on the wall.
Best PracticesOpinion
AI evangelism is loud. The quiet truth is that some tasks are simply not improved by involving an agent. Knowing which is a competitive edge.
Skip the agent when
- The change is under 20 lines and you already know what to type.
- You're touching security-critical code — auth, crypto, permissions.
- You're the only person who understands the domain; the agent will invent plausible nonsense.
- It's a hotfix at 2 AM and you need to be able to explain every character in the postmortem.
The pattern
AI is force multiplication. On tasks where the multiplier is <1, it's a tax. Recognizing those tasks quickly is a skill worth building.
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