AI Coders give you the edge.The 6 Rules I Follow When Working with AI Coders.
Published: November 18, 2025
Coding by hand is a business liability. AI Coders give you the edge.
The 6 Rules I Follow When Working with AI Coders.
This post builds on my earlier one - 'Coding by hand is obsolete'
Over two decades coding by hand in SAS, Python, SQL, VBA - across enterprises and SMBs - and the last two with AI, I've reached one conclusion:
Coding by hand today is a business liability.
It's slower, costlier, and less scalable. The P&L edge of AI-assisted coding is too big to ignore. It's the same shift as manual ledgers to accounting software- or calculators to Excel
It's no longer optional. The skill now is turning domain knowledge into working systems with AI - not syntax
The only question is how fast people adapt. Those who move fast keep the edge
When I say AI Coders, I don't mean copy-pasting code from ChatGPT. I mean working with proper AI coding tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Mito-AI (for Jupyter). With them, I've delivered client projects I'd once have declined, and built app.tigzig.com, my analytics portal with 30+ live micro-apps - open source, free and in real use.
These six rules are how I now execute - automations, models, analytics tools, full AI agent systems
My 6 rules for working with AI Coders
From live projects and lessons learnt the hard way
1. Share - Context is half the code
Give it everything it needs
- Background, logic, schema, goal, and constraints
- Include examples, sample rows, and even failed attempts
AI Coders amplify your clarity. Garbage intent in, garbage code out
2. Tell - state clearly what you want
- Set the scope and how you want it done
- Mention format, structure, and integrations upfront
Don't make it guess - it's a coder, not a mind reader
3. Ask - Interrogate first
Never execute blind. Ask for a plan first
- Demand 2-3 alternatives and trade-offs
- Clarify architecture, dependencies, and data handling.
If you don't get it, don't run it. Clarity before execution
4. Iterate - There's no magic prompt
You still build in loops - just faster.
- Review, test, and refine outputs step by step.
- Ask it to do security and performance reviews.
AI speeds the iterations but doesn't skip them.
5. Validate - Inspect what you expect
Test and verify
- Stress-test it
- Try and break it.
AI or no AI, the buck still stops with you.
6. The grind doesn't go away
You still put hard hours:
- to debug, test, and validate.
- to review logs, edge cases, and data errors.
Faster. Easier. Scalable. But still a grind - just a better one.
📍 Get started: - For a quick start: youtube.com/@VoloBuilds on YouTube - practical tutorials from an experienced developer. Simple to complex builds across major tools.
📍 More tutorials: YouTube - plenty of solid content out there.