This is because AI is currently “only” as good as a very good, tireless, junior developer. I can get someone/something like that to do whatever I want because I have an extensive technical background and have done near-dev work my entire life starting from when I was five years old.

Someone without that experience like Katie is not qualified to tell a junior dev (the AI) what to do or how to do it, so their efforts will fail. AI and junior devs currently share a lot. For instance:

1) A junior dev/AI has no idea why it’s doing anything, even if you explain it it. Can write good code but has no design sense or architectural vision.

2) A junior dev/AI will make whatever changes they are told, but will not be able to contextualize them in any real way.

3) A junior dev/AI will not set up its dev environment competently without extensive assistance.

4) A junior dev/AI will not understand what to test or why, especially in the context of the larger user experience.

5) A junior dev/AI will have no idea about security, and not understand it it any real way even with extensive explanation and guidance.

I am not saying that AI is not useful. What I am saying is that AI is only as good as a talented but green junior developer with 1-2 years of experience. That’s still far, far superior to nothing.

So that means that someone like Katie is not yet able to steer it correctly to build anything good or useful.