To effectively harness AI in coding, it is recommended to treat AI like a senior developer rather than a junior one. This approach involves providing AI with comprehensive, structured input similar to a product requirements document (PRD), allowing for better tactical prompting and enabling the AI to act as a collaborative partner in development. By encouraging AI to ask clarifying questions and iteratively work through tasks, developers can leverage AI's strengths in exploring architectural decisions, testing strategies, and identifying potential pitfalls. This method reduces the time spent on fixing AI-generated mistakes and enhances the quality and reliability of outputs. Additionally, prompting AI to explain its decisions and identify uncertainties fosters transparency and allows developers to focus on critical areas needing verification. Adopting this mindset not only improves the quality of AI-generated code but also aligns it with best practices and team standards, resulting in more maintainable and idiomatic solutions.