AI coding assistance is not cheating, and the debate is tired
Using a model to write boilerplate is like using a compiler. The skill moved, it did not disappear.
Every few months someone declares that AI coding help is cheating, as if using a higher-level tool were a moral failing. We said the same about compilers, then debuggers, then Stack Overflow.
What changed is the location of the skill. You still need to know what good code is, how systems fit, and how to spot when the generated part is wrong. Those judgments matter more, not less, when the typing is free.
The risk is real: leaning on suggestions without understanding them produces code you cannot maintain. But that is a training problem, not a cheating problem.
Treat the model as a very fast junior pair. Delegate the dull parts, review everything, and keep the architecture in your head. That is the job, same as before.