How Code in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Becomes Write-Only and Disposable
InfoQ, Thursday, August 20th, 2026
InfoQ argues AI-generated code is too dense to read, so tests define behavior and rewriting beats maintaining.
InfoQ examines an argument that AI makes essentially all code write-only. The claim is that AI-generated code becomes too dense for humans to read productively, so reading it stops being the primary way developers understand a system.
Tests instead define the behavior and function as the documentation of record. The second half of the argument is that code becomes disposable: when a change is needed, regenerating the component becomes easier than modifying it.
The piece examines what that shift means for engineering culture and methods.