There was a time when writing code felt like composing a symphony by hand—each line purposeful, each function a well-practiced note. I took comfort in the quiet rituals: starting from a blank file, building every section from scratch, testing each element until it bent to my will. It was a slow and deliberate art, and I valued every hour it cost me.
Then came AI—not loud or arrogant, but steady in its rise. Whispers turned into headlines. Tools appeared that could generate code, write documentation, even fix bugs on command. Part of me bristled. “Is this just automation in disguise? Am I about to become obsolete?”
I didn’t rush to adopt it. I watched. I asked questions. And eventually, I let it in—cautiously, then curiously. What I found didn’t replace me. It refined me.
Before AI tools entered my workflow, much of my day was eaten by repetition. Setting up forms. Copying layout structures. Writing the same utility functions in every project. These were the brushstrokes of the trade—but also the clutter.
When I began exploring tools like ChatGPT and Copilot, I didn’t hand over my work. I handed over the tedium. AI helped generate base layouts, translate pseudocode into working logic, and suggest best practices I hadn’t considered.
Suddenly, I wasn’t just coding—I was thinking ahead. I had time to focus on performance, accessibility, UX details, and cleaner architecture. It wasn’t magic. It was relief. Not a shortcut, but a shift.
In the old days, a missing semicolon could cost you half a day. CSS behaving like a ghost? Even longer. Debugging was a rite of passage—but not a joyful one.
Now, when something breaks, I describe the issue in natural language, and AI helps me interpret the error, trace the logic, and explore possible fixes. Not just how to fix it, but why it broke.
Instead of falling into endless rabbit holes, I find clarity. And more importantly, I understand my own code better with each conversation.
When I first started as a web developer, I learned by doing, by breaking, by rebuilding. That hasn’t changed. But now, I have an on-demand tutor beside me. Whether it’s a deep dive into React rendering behavior or a quick reminder of regular expressions, I can ask and receive clear, direct answers—tailored to my question, my level, my moment.
It’s not that AI makes learning easier. It makes it faster and more fluid. The loop between question and understanding is shorter. And in that space, curiosity thrives.
Oddly enough, the biggest gift AI gave me wasn’t speed—it was space. Mental space to be more creative, to explore new design patterns, to build more human experiences. With the chores out of the way, I could return to the reason I started web development in the first place: to create.
I found myself experimenting again—playing with micro-interactions, refining user flows, reimagining layouts. The code became a canvas, not a checklist.
AI didn’t take the creativity out of my work. It gave it back.
I won’t pretend I wasn’t skeptical. I still am—about over-reliance, about forgetting the fundamentals, about trading depth for convenience.
But here’s what I’ve come to believe: in the right hands, AI isn’t the artist. It’s just the brush.
It doesn’t replace the developer. It challenges them to grow.
I still write code by hand. I still fix things the hard way when I must. I still believe in craftsmanship. But now, I also believe in working with the tools of our time, not against them.
The heart of development—the joy, the challenge, the problem-solving spirit—hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, with AI beside me, I feel closer to it than ever.
So no, AI hasn’t taken my job. It’s made me better at it.
Curious how AI is changing your own workflow or creative life? Drop your thoughts below. We’re not just learning new tools—we’re building a new way of working, one line at a time.
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