# I Will Never Use AI to Code (or write)

# I Will Never Use AI to Code (or write)

**Author:** Anthony Manning-Franklin (antman-does-software.com)
**Published:** 2026-03-04
**URL:** https://antman-does-software.com/i-will-never-use-ai-to-code-or-write
**Reading time:** 13 minutes

> Note: full body could not be re-fetched (defuddle 429, host throttles). The summary below was extracted via WebFetch on 2026-05-10 and captures the nine load-bearing arguments verbatim or near-verbatim. The original is the canonical version; cite it for direct quotation.

## Nine reasons the author refuses to use AI for coding or writing

**1. Personal enjoyment.** Coding is a craft Manning-Franklin enjoys. Compares it to his father's view on writing — using AI to generate output removes the satisfaction of the creative act itself. The thing being optimized away is what made the work worth doing.

**2. Skill development.** Distinguishes recognition (passive reading about concepts) from genuine skill acquisition, which requires active practice, mistakes, and integration into mental models. Warns that AI can create an "illusion of learning" — you saw the answer, you didn't earn the model.

**3. Skill decay.** Continuously outsourcing coding tasks creates a feedback loop where skills atrophy over time. As proficiency declines, the temptation to delegate more work increases, accelerating dependency.

**4. Unsustainable economics.** AI industry has raised approximately **$1 trillion in debt** while generating only **$37 billion in revenue with zero profit**. The structure depends on continued heavy subsidization. Use of AI is participation in a subsidy game that will reverse.

**5. Accountability void.** When output quality cannot be reliably assessed, responsibility becomes unclear. Critical concern for safety-critical systems.

**6. Environmental impact.** AI data centers require enormous energy (~10 gigawatts annually), often powered by fossil fuels and built on productive farmland.

**7. Economic irrationality.** Fundamental contradiction: if AI reduces headcount across industries, who will afford consumer products? An "extracting all wealth" scenario unsustainable for economic exchange.

**8. Team dynamics / institutional knowledge.** Code itself is a "liability"; understanding developed through collaboration is the actual asset. AI cannot generate this shared knowledge between team members.

**9.** (ninth point present in the essay; the WebFetch summary collapsed it into the first eight + an "Accountability Void" framing — verify against the original).

## Stylistic notes

- First-person, declarative title — "I Will Never". The essay is stake-driven, not analytical.
- The economic and environmental sections sit alongside personal-craft arguments — same shape as [[i-am-an-ai-hater]] (citation paragraph + ethical refusal) but framed as a personal-discipline post rather than a refusal-of-discourse post.
- The skill-decay argument echoes [[skill-atrophy-supervision-paradox]] but applied to *all* coding, not just to agent supervision.