AI productivity gains vanish when you measure them honestly (opens in new tab)

Each vendor promises that AI coding tools will increase your productivity by 40%. But senior engineers kept a time log. It's the difference between those two numbers that makes you blush. A recent discussion among experienced developers revealed something uncomfortable. When they honestly logged where their hours went — including all the cleanup — that 40% boost shrank to single digits. Sometimes it vanished entirely. The Marketing Number vs. the Real Number Let me explain how the 40% is calc...