Kernighan’s Law states that debugging is twice as hard as writing code, implying that overly clever code increases complexity and makes debugging more challenging. The rise of large language models (LLMs) introduces new considerations for software development and debugging practices.

Software engineer, Warsaw.

Cursor AI enhances short-term development speed in open-source projects by leveraging large language models (LLMs). However, this acceleration may lead to increased long-term complexity in software maintenance and quality.

Large language models can generate code quickly from descriptions, providing some time savings for developers. However, reliance on AI for software engineering may lead to poor coding practices and misunderstandings of fundamental engineering principles.

Approximately 50% of test-passing SWE-bench Verified pull requests created by AI agents between mid-2024 and late-2025 would not be merged into the main branch by repository maintainers. The findings suggest that the lack of iterative feedback for AI agents does not indicate a fundamental capability limitation.

Large language model-powered agents can automate software engineering tasks, including static bug fixing, as shown by benchmarks like SWE-bench. Real-world software development requires navigating complex requirements beyond these capabilities.

The software engineering industry is facing uncertainty regarding its future viability over the next decade. Predictions indicate significant changes in the demand for software engineers and the nature of their work by 2026.

AI can automate the porting of libraries to different programming languages, often resulting in alternative design implementations while maintaining similar functionality. The process can involve utilizing a test suite to ensure compatibility and correctness in the new version.

Good software should recognize when to halt processes to prevent unexpected behaviors. An example is a Linux upgrade that leads to unusual results when executing standard commands like 'ls'.

AI tools have simplified code writing through features like function autocompletion and feature scaffolding based on plain English descriptions. Despite these advancements, the complexity and demands of daily software engineering have increased significantly in recent years.