The Fragile Expert: Why AI-Native Development is a Race Toward Cognitive Atrophy

28 Feb. 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — We have discovered the “fast forward” button for digital production. Whether it is “vibe coding” a full-stack feature into existence or using an agentic swarm to refactor a legacy module, the experience is intoxicating. High-quality functional artifacts—code that executes, patterns that seem idiomatic—now appear with a keystroke.However, this skyrocketing velocity masks a burgeoning systemic risk. We are witnessing a decoupling of near-instantaneous algorithmic generation from the inherently slower human process of mental model construction. This is the “comprehension lag”: a state where our production speed outpaces our cognitive capacity to internalize the systems we build. By trading deep comprehension for “functional artifacts” we no longer cognitively own, we are accumulating an invisible and unsustainable liability. Continue reading →