If you can reduce a problem to a point where it can be solved by simple code you can get the rest of the solution very quickly.
Reducing a problem to a point where it can be solved with simple code takes a lot of skill and experience and is generally still quite a time-consuming process.
Isn't the logical endpoint of this equivalent to printing out a Stackoverflow answer and manually typing it into your computer instead of copy-and-pasting?
Nitpicks aside, I agree that contemporary AIs can be great for quickly getting up to speed with a code base. Both a new library or language you want to be using, and your own organisation's legacy code.
One of the biggest advantages of using established ecosystem was that stack-overflow had a robust repository of already answered questions (and you could also buy books on it). With AI you can immediately cook up your own Stackoverflow community equivalent that provides answers promptly instead of closing your question as off-topic.
And I pick Stackoverflow deliberately: it's a great resources, but not reliable enough to use blindly. I feel we are in a similar situation with AI at the moment. This will change gradually as the models become better. Just like Stackoverflow required less expertise to use than attending a university course. (And a university course requires less expertise than coming up with QuickSort in the first place.)
Not in my case (I never used SO like that, anyway). I use it almost exactly like SO, except much more quickly and interactively (and without the inference that I’m “lazy,” or “stupid,” for not already knowing the answer).
I have found that ChatGPT gives me better code than Claude (I write Swift); even learning my coding and documentation style.
I still need to review all the code it gives me, and I have yet to use it verbatim, but it’s getting close.
The most valuable thing, is I get an error, and I can ask it “Here’s the symptoms and the code. What do you think is going on?”. It usually gives me a good starting point.
I could definitely figure it out on my own, but it might take half an hour. ChatGPT will give me a solid lead in about half a minute.