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Treat AI Like a Senior Dev, Not a Junior One

Blog post from Neon

Post Details
Company
Date Published
Author
Andrew Tate
Word Count
3,096
Language
English
Hacker News Points
-
Summary

Most developers approach AI coding by giving the AI a one-line prompt, expecting it to produce high-quality results without much guidance. However, this approach often leads to hallucinations, slop, and edge cases missed. A better approach is to treat the AI like a senior developer, providing context, reviewing work, iterating, and asking for deeper thinking. This involves using tactical prompting, understanding that LLMs shine when treated as a senior teammate, and giving clear instructions with well-defined requirements. Additionally, it's essential to allow the AI to ask questions, iterate with the AI, and get maintainable, idiomatic code. By taking this strategic approach, developers can achieve far better results and move from producing programming to producing products.