Development

The AI Productivity Paradox: Why Experienced Developers Are Slowing Down

There’s something strange happening in software development right now, and I think we need to talk about it.

Recent research has surfaced a troubling finding: experienced developers working on complex systems are actually 19% slower when using AI coding tools—despite perceiving themselves as working faster. This isn’t a minor discrepancy. It’s a fundamental disconnect between how productive we feel and how productive we actually are.

As someone who’s been experimenting with AI tools extensively (and writing about the results), this finding resonates with my experience. Let me break down what’s happening and what it means for engineering teams.

New How Not To Series

Welcome to the newest series on The Geek Speaks, How Not To. The focus of this series will be to highlight some of the things that should be avoided when running development teams. It is from a developer’s perspective that has spent time working extensively in support, product management, and team leadership, and will cover some of the things that I have seen companies do poorly. In addition, I will also highlight some of the things that you can do that undermine the things you can do well as seen in the How To Series.

New How To Series

Welcome to the newest series on The Geek Speaks, How To. The focus of this series will be to highlight some of the best practices for how to run development teams. It is from a developer’s perspective that has spent time working extensively in support, product management, and team leadership, and will cover some of the things that I have seen companies do well. In addition, I will also highlight some of the things that you can do to counteract those things you shouldn’t be doing, as seen in the How Not To series.