AI and the stuff I stop memorizing

People keep asking whether AI makes programmers dumber.

Maybe. It probably makes us worse at some things. I am sure I remember less syntax than I used to. I do not feel guilty about that. I also do not remember phone numbers, because my phone does.

The part that worries me is not forgetting syntax. It is accepting output because it looks shaped like an answer.

If I ask an AI for a function and it gives me one, I still need to know what the code is supposed to do, where it can fail, what happens with weird input, and whether it fits the rest of the system. That is not some higher plane of thinking. It is just the work.

GPS is the boring comparison, but it fits. I do not need to know every street. I do need to notice when it tells me to drive into nonsense.

AI is useful when I already have a grip on the problem. It is annoying when I am trying to outsource the grip.

So no, I do not think the interesting question is “does AI make us dumber?” The question is whether I can still tell when the answer is wrong.

Some days yes. Some days I paste something, run tests, and get humbled like everyone else.