Should you review AI-generated code? A RL discount-factor framework says it depends
sergeykarayev · x · 2026-09-08
- Sergey Karayev uses RL's discount factor as a framework for whether to review AI-generated code: it hinges on how you price future rewards.
- Discount factor near 0 (only care about today): skipping review is clearly better — you ship now and skip the cost, but you're discounting the growing incomprehensibility of the codebase, future outages and security incidents.
- Discount factor near 1: review is worth it, as it preserves shipping velocity and reduces downtime risk.
- The moving target: if future AI models keep getting more capable, a low discount factor becomes rational — ship messy code today without slowing future shipping.
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