Thanks for playing! You're right about the timer, not that cozy. Something to rethink for sure. Good thinking on Wilmoth approach!
On the AI front: I get the skepticism, especially with how much low-effort AI content has been flooding feeds these days. For me, AI is a tool, similar to using an engine or asset library (more like a headless programmer). But it's a spectrum based on usage, and people draw lines differently. I think of it as developing through user stories and code reviews, easier in a lot of ways - comes with it's own challenges.