Note: This post doesn't use AI at all, so there will probably be grammatical mistakes and weird sentences. Isn't that's how blogs used to be written before AI became everyone's editor & english tutor.
Lately I've noticed something weird happening to me.
Whenever I get an idea for an app, no matter how small or random, my first instinct is not to think about it myself.
Instead, I open Claude Code.
I ask questions like:
One question turns into another.
Then another.
And before I realize it, I'm in a 100-message conversation where the AI has analyzed the market, identified competitors, suggested features, created a roadmap, and basically decided the entire direction of the product.
All that's left for me to do is execute.
The funny thing is that this feels incredibly productive.
I can move from an idea to a detailed plan within minutes. The amount of leverage these tools provide is honestly insane.
But there's a side effect that I've been struggling to explain.
None of these projects feel completely mine.
Even when I spend weeks building & improving it (with AI).
Even when I launch the product myself.
Something feels different.
It feels like I'm building products using someone else's thought process.
Like I'm borrowing a brain.
And every time I rely on that borrowed brain, my own gets used a little less.
I remember how I used to work before AI.
I'd get an idea and spend hours thinking about it.
Most of those thoughts were probably terrible.
I'd go down wrong paths.
I'd overthink things.
I'd build features nobody wanted.
But the entire journey was mine.
The conclusions were mine.
The mistakes were mine.
The product reflected how I thought about the world.
Today the process feels different.
Instead of asking myself whether an idea is worth pursuing, I ask AI.
Instead of deciding which feature to prioritize, I ask AI.
Instead of debating multiple approaches in my head, I ask AI.
Sometimes I even ask AI what I should think about next.
That last part scares me a little.
Because at some point the tool stops helping you think and starts thinking for you.
The scary thing is that AI is usually good.
If it gave terrible advice all the time, this wouldn't be a problem. The problem is that the advice is often reasonable.
Sometimes it's even better than what I would have come up with.
Which makes it harder to ignore & This convenience is "addictive".
Even while writing this blog, I keep getting tempted to paste it into ChatGPT and ask:
"Can you improve this?"
"Can you make it flow better?"
"Can you rewrite this section?"
The temptation is always there.
And honestly, that's what inspired this post.
I wanted to see if I could still sit with my own thoughts long enough to publish them.
Not because AI would write it badly.
Probably the opposite.
AI would write it better.
But would it still feel like "my" post?
I'm not sure.
I don't think AI is making people stupid.
That's too simplistic.
What I think is happening is that AI is removing friction from thinking.
And friction, surprisingly, was doing something useful.
Struggling with ideas.
Being confused.
Taking the wrong path.
Changing your mind.
All of those things were part of the process of developing your own judgment.
Now we can skip large portions of that process.
Which is great for productivity.
But maybe not great for ownership.
Maybe this complete post is not required but yeah I was just confused and wanted to know other people opinions.