The biggest problem with AI is that it will not only create technical debt, it will also create cognitive debt.
When we use AI to generate code or documentation, AI will provide us with a lot of information, or sometimes incomplete information, which can overload the team or cause confusion.
Cognitive debt appears when it becomes difficult to understand, retain, and analyze the information provided by AI.
Here, the team will spend more time configuring AI and understanding the generated information than simply doing the task the way they normally would.
If cognitive debt is not managed, every iteration and every sprint will become slower, more complicated, and require a huge amount of energy from the team.
AI is a very powerful tool to accelerate work. But we need to be careful about how we use it so we do not become overwhelmed and lost in the flow of generated information.
And you, within your team, are you noticing the effects of AI and the creation of cognitive debt?