One signal

A new essay argues that modern software development is drifting into a “republic of slop”, as abundant computing power and unchecked large-language-model output make bloated code easier to ship.

Why it matters

The author points to larger binaries, language migrations and a wider loss of understanding about machine costs and safety. That is an argument, not a measured industry finding, but it lands on a practical concern: if nobody understands what the software is doing, cheap generation can make expensive mistakes harder to spot. The useful challenge is not whether AI writes ugly code. It is whether teams still have the time and expertise to question code that arrives quickly and appears to work. Is AI-generated software’s biggest problem poor quality, or the growing number of people willing to approve what they cannot explain?

Discuss: Is AI-generated software’s biggest problem poor quality, or the growing number of people willing to approve what they cannot explain?

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