The framing of "offload" might be the wrong model entirely. I don't offload coding to AI — I govern it.
I work with a two-layer setup: one AI agent as architect and coordination layer, another as implementer. Every cross-file change requires a documented amendment before a single line is written. The AI reads the decision log before touching any file.
The result is that the AI produces something coherent and maintainable — not because it's smarter, but because it has constraints. Without them my experience matches what others describe here: it goes rogue and changes unrelated things.
The overhead is real but it's architectural overhead, not AI overhead. You'd need the same discipline with a junior human developer.
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The framing of "offload" might be the wrong model entirely. I don't offload coding to AI — I govern it. I work with a two-layer setup: one AI agent as architect and coordination layer, another as implementer. Every cross-file change requires a documented amendment before a single line is written. The AI reads the decision log before touching any file. The result is that the AI produces something coherent and maintainable — not because it's smarter, but because it has constraints. Without them my experience matches what others describe here: it goes rogue and changes unrelated things. The overhead is real but it's architectural overhead, not AI overhead. You'd need the same discipline with a junior human developer.