Of course, and I feel like Codex/GPT is generally better at following instructions and implementing a step-by-step plan and at a lower cost. Opus still has an edge in writing, brainstorming, and open-ended frontend vibe-coding.

I’m definitely not coming to this from a “AI is useless” angle. I’ve been using these tools extensively over the past year and they are providing a massive productivity boost.

That is 100% correct as a foundation.

However when you guide the AI as a constant, and the model behaves MUCH differently (given a baseline guide), that is where the problem lies.

It's as if your 'guidance' has to be variable on how well the model is behaving. Analogy is a junior dev who is sometimes excellent, and sometimes shows up drunk for work and you have no breathalyzer.

> skills to guide

Is that what the soul is?