How does AI impact skill formation?

A recent Anthropic study found that people learning Python's Trio library using AI performed worse on knowledge retention tests. However, half the AI users inexplicably spent time manually retyping generated code rather than copy-pasting it, and when excluding these participants, AI users completed tasks 25% faster with only slightly lower quiz scores. While AI use reduces learning per task, software engineers are paid to deliver results rather than learn, and working faster may provide more overall learning opportunities through increased task volume.