The Effect of AI on Me

I don't know why, but when I try to learn frontend development, I don't find it as exciting as backend or Linux related topics. I understand React, but my real struggle is UI design, I'm just not good at it. With backend projects, I can read documentation, follow tutorials, and build things. But design? Remember that meme about backend developers who can't center a div? That's me.

My AI Experiment

While building the dashboard with React and TailwindCSS for this blog, I hit a wall with design. So I thought: Let's try AI! What followed was 2-3 days of frustration.

My first prompt: "Create a React login component." The result? A stark white screen with basic inputs, zero creativity. I refined my request, but the AI kept producing similar uninspired designs. And you can also guess what happened with the other components and how many times I had to re-run the prompt to redesign the dashboard. That's when I realized: AI needs precise prompting, and even then, its creativity is limited.

The Dependency Trap

What started as a helper became a crutch. I began using AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot) for everything:

Simple text changes I could make in seconds
Basic layout fixes
Errors I could've solved with a quick Google search

The scary part? The more I used AI for trivial tasks, the harder it became to think independently. Like slow poison, reliance crept in:

Immediate solutions felt convenient
My problem-solving muscles weakened
I grew impatient with manual work

Lessons Learned

AI is a tool, not a replacement
It can't replicate human creativity in design
The prompt matters
"Make a beautiful login page" ≠ effective instruction
Overuse harms growth
If you delegate thinking, you stop learning

Those 2-3 days taught me: Use AI to enhance skills, not avoid developing them.