Many companies initially banned AI tools during interviews, especially for engineering roles, fearing candidates would use them unfairly. This approach focused on preventing AI use rather than assessing real-world performance. The author argues that since AI is now a standard tool for knowledge work, excluding it from interviews creates an artificial environment. At Warp, they adopted the opposite strategy, allowing candidates to use AI freely during a practical feature-building exercise. This approach revealed that exceptional candidates spend less time prompting AI and more time understanding the problem first. They prioritize thoughtful questions and building a mental model before using AI for acceleration. In contrast, other candidates tend to prompt excessively and accept AI output too readily, leading to errors or misunderstanding. The author emphasizes that judgment, not prompt engineering, is the crucial skill in the AI era. AI has lowered the cost of execution but not the value of good judgment, which involves problem definition and evaluation. This realization is also reshaping hiring strategies, with a focus on individuals who learn quickly, thrive in ambiguity, and can direct AI effectively. Deep domain expertise remains essential to complement AI's speed. Warp is hiring individuals who can leverage AI rather than rely on it as a crutch. The key interview question has shifted from "can they succeed without AI?" to "who consistently exercises the best judgment when using AI tools?" This has proven to be a strong predictor of success.