December 2024. Tried ChatGPT for work.

Wrote: "Express server with JWT authorization". 10 seconds later - ready code. Copied, ran - works. Asked for role middleware - also works. Tests - writes them. Bugs in my code - finds them.

Thought: why do we need programmers then?

Then problems started. Ask for one thing - does something similar but not quite. Uses outdated API. Makes up methods that don't exist in the library. And the main thing - no context. Every chat from scratch. Wrote a file - it doesn't know what's in neighboring files.

What I learned

It's a tool, not autopilot. Works on specific tasks: "write a function that does X". Doesn't work on abstract ones: "make me an app".

Now I use it like this: boilerplate, regex, SQL queries, typical functions - it does. Architecture, logic, decisions - me. Check every piece before putting it in the project.