As of yesterday (Sep. 3rd, 2026), GPT6 Astra was released to the public. DEFCON CTF was completed with tens of thousands of dollars of token spend per team, and many CTFs have attempted to implement “anti-AI” policies, unfortunately to little avail.

To be completely honest, I never was the best CTF player. I never won a well-known CTF outside of in-person events, never focused on a single category (although I think it was more fun that way), and only played with my university team.

However, CTFs have taught me very important skills in problem solving and computer systems that have been useful in every interview, class, and career. And I have a lot of fond memories and great relationships that I’ve made playing and writing CTFs.

I don’t feel the same joy I felt writing a CTF challenge in the past or taking hours and hours to solve a single challenge when I know anybody can spend a few dollars to prompt a solve. What’s the point of it all?

Reflection

Well, then, since CTFs are no longer for me, what do I do now to fill in the time and the gap? To be honest, I think part of my lost passion for CTFs is due to having a full time job working in security. I’ve seen it happen to many people before me, and I feel the same sometimes.

Maybe I’m using AI to shift the blame. My own

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What this theme gives you

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