Transcript Testing: Apache DataFusion maintainer says AI-era tests should be written for humans to read

mgill25 · x · 2026-11-14

Andrew Lamb, Apache DataFusion maintainer, proposes Transcript Testing: as AI tools mean humans write less code, software tests should be explicitly written for humans to read, to verify and understand the systems we build.
In the past 6 months he hasn't seen a PR with inadequate tests — instead, the opposite problem: AI-generated tests spanning hundreds of lines that reviewers skim or skip entirely (himself included).
Example: a PR optimizing DataFusion's Parquet Bloom filter reading shipped four test functions (400 lines total), one test alone at 117 lines.
His takeaway: humans should still design and maintain software, likely in natural language, and the abstraction level of verification (tests) must rise accordingly.

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