Junior Dev's AI Shortcut Backfired When Senior Asked Him to Explain His Code

A junior developer recounts being caught off-guard during a task walkthrough when his senior asked him to explain code he had generated using AI without fully understanding the requirements. He admits to repeatedly using AI tools to bypass the discomfort of unclear tasks, producing code that looked functional but lacked genuine comprehension behind it. The experience prompted him to change his workflow, starting with restating tasks in his own words, drafting a rough personal approach before involving AI, and running a self-interview before presenting any solution. He argues the core problem was not AI itself, but using it to skip the understanding phase rather than to support it. He shared his story to address what he believes is a widespread but underacknowledged issue among developers who ramped up quickly using AI tools.