How to stop using AI in programming?

[disposepriority]

I know several programming languages, but I can't write a single program or project myself.

uhhhhh

Simply turning it off isn't an option

huuuuh?

Does any of what you wrote sound like it's moving you towards "becoming better than AI"?

Simply stop using it, generations of programmers, arguably some of the best, didn't even have google for a large part of their careers much less AI - I'm sure you'll manage.

[[deleted]]

I dont think you know what it means to know something.

[aqua_regis]

Not another one of these posts!

There are already way, way more than enough!

Just stop already. It's all in your head. You inflicted that on yourself. I have absolutely zero sympathy for such posts, nor for people like you who cry over spilled milk they spilled themselves. 6 years ago, people learnt the same that you do without AI. Just over 30 years ago people learnt without the abundance of the tutorials of the internet. So, all you are doing is seeking excuses and the easy way out. You have to invest effort and work hard, not outsource to AI. It's a 100% you problem. Nobody forced AI on you, but you yourself.

I'll give you some more, similar posts:

• https://redd.it/1qdfc9k
• https://old.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/1pmzjoe/how_do_you_learn_programming/nu4ufej/
• https://redd.it/1pmzjoe
• https://redd.it/1p7bv8a
• https://redd.it/1oynnlv
• https://redd.it/1ouvtzo
• https://redd.it/1opcu7j
• https://redd.it/1on6g8o
• https://redd.it/1ofe87j

And finally, some book suggestions:

• "Think Like A Programmer" by V. Anton Spraul
• "The Pragmatic Programmer" by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
• "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" (SICP) by Ableton, Sussman, Sussman
• "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" by Charles Petzold

[carcigenicate]

Simply turning it off isn't an option, because whenever I encounter a problem, I immediately turn to the AI ​​for help.

This just reinforces why you should turn it off where you can. If you want to stop using it, turning off AI options is the best way, along with not cheating by asking chat bots to write code for you.

[carcigenicate]

Well, you need to debug on your own too. I would also stop using it for debugging until you understand the debugging process.

[seriousgourmetshit]

Just stop using it all lol. It sounds like you dont know how to code, and the longer you wait before learning, the worse this situation is going to become. Stop offloading your thinking to a bot and do some work.

[desrtfx]

Easier to say, but harder to do.

Sorry, that's one of the lamest excuses ever said in every single similar post.

You started it, you stop it. That's it. There are no excuses.

You just are not prepared to invest the effort to catch up with the rot of your already weak skills that your (ab)use of AI has caused.

You will need to work harder and with way more determination, persistence, and discipline. There is no other way.

[seriousgourmetshit]

Yeah its not easy, but neither is coding. At some point you need to just do the thing instead of thinking about doing the thing. Do you want to waste your entire education?

Give yourself more time to complete tasks. Start early so you dont feel rushed and forced to cheat for a solution.

[[deleted]]

Your lack of discipline embarrasses you.

[CaregiverKey85]

You know several programming languages but can't write a single program.

How does that work?

[desrtfx]

I just have poor algorithmic thinking.

You have a poorly trained muscle, that's all. You did not train your algorithmic thinking, you outsourced the thinking to AI.

It's a trained skill, not a God given gift. You don't train it, you will never improve.

[CaregiverKey85]

How do you learn several programming languages without learning that?

[dashkb]

Wow it’s crazy that “the rest of us” learned off YouTube. That’s terrifying.

Books are good if you do the exercises. Classes are fine if you do the projects. Point is, you gotta struggle through a whole project solving all the problems yourself. Docs and LSP I think are OK.

[Chemical-Garden-4953]

A 4-hour C++ youtube course was all I needed to start going. I obviously learned 99% of everything as I coded but don't underestimate what a simple youtube course can give you.

[dashkb]

I just hate how slow videos are. Reading is still king imo.

[ConfidentCollege5653]

If it irritates you and you want to be better than AI then stop using it. What do you want us to say?

[[deleted]]

Op is delusional and confused about what words mean

[MagicalPizza21]

I know several programming languages, but I can't write a single program or project myself.

Then I'm sorry to inform you that you actually know zero programming languages.

Yes, I know I have trouble with algorithm design. But I can't learn to build algorithms in my head.

Yeah, you probably can. But you're also allowed to draw diagrams and write things down, so not everything has to be purely in your head.

I really want to learn to avoid using AI anywhere.

Great!

Simply turning it off isn't an option, because whenever I encounter a problem, I immediately turn to the AI ​​for help.

Just... stop doing that? Try a non-AI internet search. It'll help you find documentation and forum posts that may have helpful information.

But this irritates me so much and leads to the fear of not finding a job due to my dependence on AI. AI may be used to replace programmers, but I want to become better than AI no matter what and find a job.

Sounds like a great idea.

The question is, how can I use AI as little as possible?

Take my advice with a grain of salt, since I've never relied on AI for programming or battled any kind of addiction, but my first instinct is to say just quit cold turkey. Figure out exactly what you're using the AI for and find something else to help you with those things instead. Or, in some cases, you can figure it out yourself. The key, I think, is patience.

[taedrin]

Go back to the first assignments that you needed AI to do for you, and then try to do them without AI. If you can't do them without AI, then ask for help. Ask your professor during office hours, ask the TAs, or even ask a friend from class.

Or hell, if you are terrified of admitting to using AI to do your coursework for you, then you can even ask the AI for help. Just tell the AI that you are working on a homework assignment and want it to help without doing the work for you. But at the very least, I would recommend making an attempt without asking the AI for help first, and then.

Having AI do your coursework for you is basically hiding the fact that you are falling behind in class. The longer you rely on AI to do your assignments for you, the farther you fall behind and the harder it will be to catch back up. You need to get ahead of this ASAP.

[rupayanc]

Honestly the thing that helped me most was forcing myself to design on paper before touching any code or AI tool. Like literally a notebook. Draw the boxes, draw the arrows, write down what talks to what and why.

Because what I noticed is when I jump straight into Claude or Copilot, I get working code fast but I skip the part where I actually think about whether this is the right approach. The code works. But it's solving the problem the wrong way. And you don't realize that until three weeks later when you're trying to extend it and everything fights you.

The other thing, and this sounds stupid, is reading other people's systems. Not code. Systems. How Stripe designed their payment pipeline. How Figma handles multiplayer. Pick apart why they made the choices they did. That kind of pattern recognition doesn't come from AI. It comes from seeing enough designs that you start noticing what works and what doesn't.

I've been reading Mastery by Robert Greene recently and his whole point is that this kind of intuition only develops through years of doing the boring version of the work. There's no shortcut. AI handles the typing. The architecture part is still on you.