12.4The Pragmatic Approach

Anti-Pattern: AI is either dismissed entirely ("I don't trust it") or adopted uncritically ("the AI generates all our tests now"). No review process exists for AI-generated output.

Pattern: AI is used as a productivity multiplier within a human-directed process. AI generates, humans curate. AI accelerates, humans strategize.

Use AI to: accelerate codebase understanding, generate first drafts, reduce maintenance burden, focus testing effort, handle mechanical aspects of test creation.

Do not use AI to: skip code review of generated tests, substitute for domain knowledge, justify reducing QA headcount, avoid building proper test architecture.