HACKER Q&A
📣 yoyopro

Struggling to figure out when not to use ChatGPT. Harming my skills?


I am a programmer who has become increasingly reliant on ChatGPT, and I find it difficult to know when not to use it.

For example, queries I previously searched on Google would provide worse results than what I'm getting with ChatGPT, and so I would be forced to learn more and take a lot longer completing some programming task in my previous life where I didn't use ChatGPT.

When I use ChatGPT I make sure I understand each line of code and type everything out by hand, but I can't help but feel that the process of spending longer piecing something together through Google and documentation integrates the learning better in my memory, and produces better problem solving skills (because I'm having to figure out more things on my own).

Ironically, Google being worse than ChatGPT for a lot of programming queries seems to result in me learning more potentially.

The counter argument is that I can accomplish more with ChatGPT and so perhaps I am exposed to more programming and overall learn more due to that.

It's hard not to use ChatGPT because of how much more immediately productive it makes me though.

I should point out that ChatGPT is not always better than Googling, and has been useless or nearly useless for some types of programming.

Anyway, how do other programmers deal with this difficulty? Do you not see it as a problem?

Thanks!


  👤 syndicatedjelly Accepted Answer ✓
> I can't help but feel that the process of spending longer piecing something together through Google and documentation integrates the learning better in my memory, and produces better problem solving skills (because I'm having to figure out more things on my own).

You should question this assumption. Why do you believe that more time spent learning a subject is an indication of “better integrated learning”? What does that latter phrase mean to you?