Does AI Make Coders Lazy? Why Productivity Gains May Be an Illusion

You've probably heard that AI can write code faster than humans. Tools like GitHub Copilot and similar AI coding assistants can complete lines of code automatically, making developers feel like they're getting more done in less time. But a developer named Josh Collinsworth has gathered research suggesting something troubling: this feeling of productivity might not be real.

Here's the concern: when AI writes code for you, you stop practicing the skills you'd normally use. Think of it like using GPS everywhere instead of learning to navigate—you feel productive getting places quickly, but you never develop your own sense of direction. Over time, developers may lose the ability to solve problems independently, write clean code, or understand what's really happening behind the scenes. The code itself might also suffer. AI can produce code that "works" technically but is messy, inefficient, or hard for other people to understand and fix later.

What makes this especially problematic is organizational learning—the idea that teams get better over time by solving problems together and sharing knowledge. If everyone relies on AI to write code, that learning stops happening. New developers don't learn from experienced ones. Teams don't build shared understanding. The research Collinsworth surveyed suggests these hidden costs are real, even if they're not obvious right away.

The takeaway isn't that AI coding tools are entirely bad. But they may create a false sense of progress. The real question we should be asking: are we actually becoming better developers, or just feeling like we are?