{
  "id": 15418188,
  "title": "The Brain Sandwich",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/the-brain-sandwich",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-18T03:03:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Lobsters",
    "slug": "lobsters",
    "url": "https://terriblesoftware.org/2026/10/02/the-brain-sandwich/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "I was having a conversation with Emily, one of our top engineers, and we were mostly complaining about some of the downsides of AI these days. The amount of code reviews, how the job is evolving, and the most relevant point for this post - how sometimes engineers completely abandon their brains and delegate all their work to AI, which I've heard referred to as a \"Meat Proxy.\"\n\nEmily shared a simple framework she uses for working with AI, called the \"Brain Sandwich.\" It's a straightforward method that helps maintain engineering skills while fully utilizing AI. The concept is quite simple and can be summed up as follows: before telling the AI to start building anything, read and understand it first. Don't need a complete plan, just a general idea of where you're going. Otherwise, AI might mislead you in the wrong direction or even create something that wasn't a problem you needed to solve.\n\nOnce you have all this context, it's time to bring in the AI. Fully delegate this part with no shame! When the AI presents a solution, you'll know if it's right, too much, or solving the wrong problem. Then, at the end, bring your brain back into the equation. Before sending your work for review, make sure it's reviewable. Read the diff, check if the complexity is worth it in this case, and improve the PR description if necessary. The rule of thumb is: if you can't explain what's changing and why, it's not ready for someone else to take a look.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}