Article summary
- 1. A Real person has the whole picture.
- 2. A human recognizes when you need a break.
- 3. Talking through solutions improves understanding.
- 4. You'll avoid rabbit holes and tunnel vision.
- 5. AI can be a great supplement but not a replacement.
- Ideal Debugging Workflow: Human Collaboration First, AI as a Support Tool
With the rise of AI-powered coding assistants like Cursor, Github CoPilot, and ChatGPT, it can be tempting to turn to a tool rather than a colleague when encountering a tough problem. These AI tools can analyze vast amounts of code, suggest fixes, and even generate new functionality. However, while these kinds of integrated development environments (IDEs) can provide advantages, they can’t fully replace the benefits of working with a real human when debugging. Here’s why pairing is still better than relying solely on AI IDEs.
1. A Real person has the whole picture.
AI assistants work within the scope of the files you feed them, but they don’t have full awareness of your entire setup. A pair programmer, on the other hand, can see everything happening in your terminals, logs, documentation, and other context-specific elements that an AI might miss. When debugging, understanding the broader system and its state is crucial, and a human collaborator can help piece together the bigger picture.
2. A human recognizes when you need a break.
One of the most valuable aspects of pair programming is emotional intelligence. A human pair can tell when you’re getting frustrated, spiraling into unproductive debugging, or losing sight of the bigger picture. They can suggest stepping back, taking a break, or rethinking an approach—something an AI won’t do unless explicitly prompted.
3. Talking through solutions improves understanding.
Explaining your thought process out loud forces you to clarify your reasoning and expose flawed assumptions. Conversations with a human encourage deeper learning and retention, while typing questions into an AI can sometimes lead to passive acceptance of its output without true understanding. Debugging is often about challenging assumptions, and a real person can push you to do that in a way AI cannot.
4. You’ll avoid rabbit holes and tunnel vision.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to “make the chatbot help you” instead of focusing on solving the actual problem. When an AI suggestion doesn’t quite work, you might waste time feeding it more details, tweaking prompts, and chasing vague responses—rather than stepping back and reassessing. A human pair can recognize when you’re stuck, help shift focus, and ensure you don’t get lost in sauce.
5. AI can be a great supplement but not a replacement.
There’s no denying that AI tools can sometimes catch things humans miss. They can provide insights from vast training data, suggest alternative approaches, and even fix problems that neither you nor your pair would have caught. The best debugging workflow might be to start by explaining the problem to a real person—to better define the issue—before using AI for targeted questions and feedback on specific approaches.
Ideal Debugging Workflow: Human Collaboration First, AI as a Support Tool
Instead of choosing between pair programming and AI, the best approach is to integrate them in a way that enhances human collaboration:
- Engage in active debugging with your pair, working through error messages, logs, and unexpected behavior together.
- Use AI tools as a resource to check specific details, suggest alternative approaches, or verify assumptions when needed.
- Stay focused on the human collaboration, ensuring that AI remains a tool for enhancing the debugging process rather than dictating the approach.
By keeping human collaboration at the center and leveraging AI strategically, we can get the best of both worlds—efficient debugging, deeper learning, and a more balanced, productive development process.