If by "cognitive debt", you mean "you don't really understand the code of the application that we're trying to extend/maintain", then yes, it's almost certainly

If by "cognitive debt", you mean "you don't really understand the code of the application that we're trying to extend/maintain", then yes, it's almost certainly going to apply to programming. If I write the application, I have an internal map that corresponds (more or less) to what's going on in the code. I built that map as I was writing it, and I use that map as I debug, maintain, and extend the application. But if I use AI, I have much less clear of a map. I become dependent on AI to help me understand the code well enough to debug it. Given AI's current limitations of actually understanding, that should give you pause...