AI pair programming uses AI coding assistants as active collaborators in the developer workflow, not as replacements. It accelerates the inner loop from planning and design through coding, testing, debugging, and documentation — all within existing tools like IDEs. Key benefits include improved code quality through continuous review, faster knowledge sharing, reduced repetitive work, and a better developer experience. The critical caveat is that human oversight remains essential: AI can be confidently wrong, and developers must still evaluate correctness, design systems, and exercise judgment. The role of developers shifts toward higher-level thinking, problem framing, and solution evaluation rather than writing boilerplate code from scratch.