AddyOsmani.com - Comprehension Debt — the hidden cost of AI generated code.

kept by eddie mar 16

Excessive reliance on AI coding tools creates comprehension debt—a growing gap between code volume and human understanding—that erodes system knowledge and eventually must be paid with interest.

On cognitive debt
Nate Meyvis argues that cognitive debt in AI-generated codebases is not inherently worse than in traditional codebases, and AI can help mitigate it.
also on Margaret-Anne Storey, #cognitive-debt, Simon Willison, #ai-coding, #software-engineering, #developer-tools
AddyOsmani.com - The Intent Debt
Intent debt—the missing externalized rationale for why a system is built—is the most expensive kind of debt because AI agents cannot generate it, and its cost compounds as teams rely on more agents.
also on Margaret-Anne Storey, #software-engineering, #developer-tools
Your job is to deliver code you have proven to work
Software engineers must prove code works through manual and automated testing, shifting accountability away from AI agents to the human submitting the PR.
also on #code-review, Simon Willison, #ai-coding, #software-engineering, #developer-tools
Using AI to write better code more slowly
Using multiple LLMs for rigorous code review and bug finding can produce higher-quality code than the common fast-output approach, though it slows development velocity.
also on #code-review, Anthropic, #ai-coding, #software-engineering, #developer-tools
the browser is the sandbox
The browser's 30-year-old sandbox model can be adapted to safely run AI agents locally, though gaps remain in network isolation and malicious file creation.
also on Simon Willison, Anthropic, #software-engineering