AI agents are like highly trained technicians rather than master craftspeople. You can train a skilled technician to perform most routine surgeries or standard procedures with excellent results 95% of the time. But when complications arise - unexpected anatomy, rare conditions, or situations not covered in the training - you need an experienced surgeon who understands the underlying principles and can adapt on the fly.

Coding with AI is similar. AI excels at standard patterns, common algorithms, and well-defined problems. But when you hit edge cases, need to debug subtle interactions, architect something novel, or optimize for unusual constraints, you need someone who understands the fundamentals to diagnose what’s actually happening and craft a solution.