Research
Do AI Tools Slow Down Developers? The Answer Isn't Simple.
A recent viral study from METR challenged a core assumption of the AI era: that AI tools make developers more productive. It found that expert developers were actually 19% slower when using them, even though they felt 20% faster. In this post, we break down the likely reasons for this surprising slowdown and argue the study's focus on expert speed leads us to consider a more profound story: AI's true value may be in empowering a new generation of vibe coders and managers to build things that otherwise would never have existed. Ultimately, the question isn't just whether AI makes us faster. It's about how we measure value in an era where enjoyment, context, and empowerment are becoming just as important as the clock.
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