A lot of productivity tools promise to lighten your cognitive load when it comes to remembering all the information generated in any given software development program. Think about all the note-taking apps, wikis and knowledge management solutions, and email/chat systems. Folks have called these a “second brain” as they expand your memory like a USB hard drive. This is a form of cognitive offloading—using a tool or a gesture to assist in thinking about a problem. We do this all the time: counting on your fingers, setting alarms on your phone to remember to pick up your cousin at the airport, and using password managers are all cognitive offloading. These tricks and techniques have been around way before people called them “productivity hacks.” Our brains have limitations, and cognitive offloading with tools and gestures make us smarter monkeys. AI tools promise big productivity gains, allowing you to use them as thinking partners.…