[JumpCrisscross]

> but helps me learn things much more quickly than reading textbooks

Have you tested this against an external metric of competence? The research seems to show that AI is great at making you feel you know something. But I think the studies looking at language learning found those using AI extensively tested below peers using traditional methods.

[gpt5]

You don't always need the same level of deep knowledge on everything you do. A lot of things in software development requires some basic level understanding of some obscure API you would never use again. LLM definitely speed up that part.

[bpodgursky]

I don't care what the studies say. It's an incredibly good tutor.

AI helps me fill gaps in my knowledge quickly rather than hunting around for hours for exactly the right chapter which kind-of-but-not-quite explains the concept I am hunting for.

[JumpCrisscross]

> It's an incredibly good tutor

It feels like a good tutor. If you aren’t externally benchmarking your comprehension, you really can’t say.

> helps me fill gaps in my knowledge quickly rather than hunting around for hours for exactly the right chapter

Have you considered that learning to phrase your questions is part of indexing and thus learning a subject?

I’m not saying AI can’t help with that search process. But we have no evidence it helps and lots of evidence it hurts, and everyone with anecdotes to the contrary seems to be going off vibes around how much they learned without any external reference.