To the engineer trying to keep up with AI

You can skip most launches and still get better at using it.

Dear engineer,

Another model came out this week. Someone on your team is excited about a new coding tool. Your feed is full of people saying their workflow has changed forever.

You do not need to try all of it.

Choose two or three sources you trust to tell you what’s worth a closer look. (The Kilo blog can be one of them.) Read those sources regularly and let the rest of the noise pass you by.

Then pick one part of your work that takes too long. Maybe it’s understanding an unfamiliar codebase, writing tests, or getting a pull request ready for review. When something promising comes along, try it on that task.

Ask, “Did this help me get a better change merged?” That will teach you more than asking which model is best this week.

Give yourself an hour a week to experiment. If a tool helps, keep using it until you know where it fails. If it doesn’t, move on.

You don’t need a working opinion on every model. You need to know what to reach for, where to check its work, and whether it helps you ship. Build that judgment one real task at a time.

—Emilie