AI – It Was Never About the Code Anyways

created 2026-03-28

It was never really about the code for me. Don't get me wrong, I love the process - the clicking of keys and working out thoughts as I go. But I've entered the flow state in a variety of mediums - Digital Art, Board Game Design, Creating LED Shoes and designing the most complicated yet amazing single button experience... Sure, sometimes I feel that AI has taken from me something that I enjoy - pecking away at the keyboard, discovering definitions of Structs, and that crisp moment where the written words work. But, I still get to solve problems, and I still get to be creative, and I'm still losing myself in my code.

I spend more time architecting. I spend way more time prototyping. I'm iterating faster - finding out what does and doesn't work. I get to be more curious - more daring. I'm investing more in my developer environment than I ever have before, and my speed is picking up.

This comes with some serious struggles, though. It's been difficult to figure out how to delegate to AI effectively. Especially while keeping a deeper understanding of the code. When I've been working towards a solution in my editor for 4 hours, it definitely deepens my understanding and cements it in my head a little more. So far, the solution for me has been to test rigorously, think through edge cases, interrogate claude, and own the solution end to end. If I give away the task and just work on 4 things at once, I am just quarter-assing everything. The best part about Claude isn't what it writes, it's how fast it writes! How fast you get feedback. The way it can be a rubber duck for your ideas. When I work with claude, I still feel like the solution is my own. I just didn't have to type it. The solutions come out almost as fast as my thoughts.

Hopefully, there's always room for us to solve problems. That's the fun part. If there comes a day where there isn't room for me anymore, then I guess I'll go make more board games.