Research-informed self-check and practices for healthy AI-assisted workhttps://ontilt.dev/en-UShttps://ontilt.dev/blog/ai-brain-fry/https://ontilt.dev/blog/ai-brain-fry/Boston Consulting Group researchers have a name for the mental fog from managing AI agents: 'AI brain fry.' Their findings map directly onto the OnTilt framework.Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/ai-hygiene-checklist/https://ontilt.dev/blog/ai-hygiene-checklist/You brush your teeth. You sleep 8 hours. What do you do about your AI habits? 12 research-informed practices for healthy AI-assisted work.Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/brain-fry-vs-burnout/https://ontilt.dev/blog/brain-fry-vs-burnout/They look the same from outside. But BCG data shows brain fry sufferers actually have less burnout. Here's how to tell which one you have - and why it matters for recovery.Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/slop-theater/https://ontilt.dev/blog/slop-theater/37,000 lines of code per day. 380,000 lines for an issue tracker. Sentry's entire Python backend is 550,000 lines. When did lines-of-code become a success metric instead of a source of shame?Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/slot-machine-in-your-ide/https://ontilt.dev/blog/slot-machine-in-your-ide/Your AI coding tool parallels the same 6 psychological mechanics as a casino slot machine. The behavioral patterns are analogous — here's what peer-reviewed research suggests.Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-39-point-gap/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-39-point-gap/METR study: developers feel 20% faster but measure 19% slower. That 39-point gap between perception and reality is the most dangerous metric in your workflow.Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-3am-refactor/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-3am-refactor/I spent 6 hours refactoring a service that worked fine. The AI kept suggesting improvements. Each one made sense. None of them mattered.Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-bartender-problem/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-bartender-problem/In a bar, the bartender is legally obligated to stop serving you. Your coding agent will pour another round at 2 AM and compliment your architecture.Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-debugging-gap/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-debugging-gap/AI automated the exact tasks that historically trained juniors into seniors. Nobody designed a replacement. Here's the data, the risk, and the 'mental gym' approach.Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-hiding-pattern/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-hiding-pattern/Nearly half of workers hide how much they use AI. Addiction research calls this concealment. Developers call it Tuesday.Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-managers-blind-spot/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-managers-blind-spot/Your team ships faster with AI. Commits are up. Velocity looks great. Nobody's tracking the 41% bug increase, the review burden, or the burnout underneath.Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-one-hour-lie/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-one-hour-lie/Armen Ronacher spent an hour arguing with a coding agent about a problem he'd already solved. The agent contradicted itself with identical confidence. He didn't notice for 60 minutes.Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-review-tax/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-review-tax/47% of developers rank it #1. AI PRs have 1.7x more issues, 2.74x more XSS vulnerabilities. Here's a 5-layer review framework that goes beyond the checklist.Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/the-space-between-prompts/https://ontilt.dev/blog/the-space-between-prompts/Rick Rubin calls vibe coding 'punk rock.' But his own creative philosophy — subtraction, silence, listening — contradicts compulsive prompting.Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/when-both-sides-agree/https://ontilt.dev/blog/when-both-sides-agree/Pro-AI developers and anti-AI activists independently describe the same compulsive patterns. A Reddit thread maps real user experiences onto research-informed addiction mechanics.Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/when-the-builder-breaks/https://ontilt.dev/blog/when-the-builder-breaks/An AI infrastructure engineer shipped more code than ever — and burned out harder than ever. His experience, plus 30 developers on Hacker News, map the pattern.Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/why-you-keep-hitting-tab/https://ontilt.dev/blog/why-you-keep-hitting-tab/Tab-complete parallels the behavioral pattern of a slot machine pull. The unpredictability of AI suggestions suggests an analogous mechanism.Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/your-ai-didnt-steal-your-flow/https://ontilt.dev/blog/your-ai-didnt-steal-your-flow/AI tools create something that looks like flow but lacks its defining feature: agency. Understanding the difference between real flow and 'dark flow.'Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://ontilt.dev/blog/your-ai-has-no-bedtime/https://ontilt.dev/blog/your-ai-has-no-bedtime/AI tools don't get tired, don't close at midnight, don't suggest you stop. The human is the only thing standing between a useful session and a 4 AM spiral.Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT