9-year backend dev: AI code isn't the problem, the rate of making a mess is
Sweaty-Landscape-561 · reddit · 2026-09-11
A backend engineer with 9 years across an agency, payments, and mid-sized SaaS argues the complaints about AI code (overengineering, duplicated logic, restating comments, empty tests) are all true — but he's never walked into a human codebase held to the standard now expected from models. The problem is rate: one person makes a mess slowly enough for review to catch; four agents make four different messes across six repos before anyone finishes the first PR. CodeRabbit keeps up with volume but can't tell that the four messes are one mistake made four ways.
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