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Building with AI

Where AI wastes your time — and what works instead

It isn’t lying to you. It’s guessing, confidently. Here’s how to stop paying for the guesses.

The time-sinks are predictable:

• The confident wrong answer. It sounds sure. It’s wrong. Sureness is not a signal.
• The loop. It suggests a fix, it doesn’t work, it suggests the same fix again with more words.
• The amnesia. You said “on-device, no accounts” ten minutes ago; it just added a login.

What actually works

• Give it references, not descriptions. “Match this file” beats “make it like the other one.” Point at real, working examples.
• Small steps, each verified. Don’t let it stack five changes you can’t check.
• Make it show its work. Ask for the actual output — not a reassurance that it’s fine.
• When it loops, stop. Change the approach; don’t re-run the same prompt louder. Two tries, then rethink.
• Re-state your constraints. Not because it’s dumb — because it forgets. A one-line reminder saves a rewrite.

The model that helps: it’s an eager junior who’s read everything and remembers nothing. Fast hands, no memory, no judgment. You bring the judgment; it brings the speed. Keep that division straight and it’s the best co-builder you’ll get for free. Forget it, and it’ll happily build you the wrong thing very quickly.

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The full playbook — every screen, in order — is in the guides.