I had a very interesting conversation recently with a longtime DBA who was worried about using AI in their database work. The Redgate State of the Database Landscape 2026 report showed that the vast majority of you (99%) are getting value from AI, so clearly it’s being used. However, this individual was concerned that using AI for tasks would not engage their brain, and they might lose some of their SQL skills.

And they want to use their brain at work.

I would hope most of you want to use your brains and accomplish things. That’s a lot of the reason I continue to work and enjoy what I do. It engages me, and I find the challenge of solving problems to be interesting work. Whether that’s simple T-SQL queries, architecture for an application, or the culture challenges of changing teams. It’s exciting to move anything forward.

I would hope most people want to use their brains at work and not just get through the day without straining their mental faculties. It’s fun to solve a problem, puzzle, or challenge. The thing I’ve learned is that AI doesn’t preclude that.

I use AI to tackle tedious things. Small things. Minute-saving things. The number of times I use an AI to do something that saves me minutes is surprising. Those minutes add up across the week and let me avoid some of the tedious work and focus on the things I enjoy: deciding if something works and if it is the appropriate solution.

I might ask an LLM to generate some code, summarize some text, or give me a first draft. I might use a lot of what I get, or just a little. I might throw everything away and do it myself, but often that little kickstart gets me moving quicker than I might otherwise get started, and it’s lower stress for me when I’m on a deadline.

I enjoy PowerShell, but sometimes the tedium of getting the syntax right and formatting things is annoying. Scaffolding around an algorithm can be a pain. An AI can do a lot of that stuff and I can evaluate the result. I never type > instead of -gt anymore because the LLM does it. I decide if I like the approach or not, or if I want to write a little code inside the scaffolding.

I still use my brain. AI hasn’t changed that. It’s just that I avoid some of the tedious things. And if I need a break, I can go for a walk or cook or play guitar rather than slogging through a chore that isn’t interesting.

Steve Jones

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