Why AI Will Never Replace Human Code Review
I was reading this article today—"Why AI Will Never Replace Human Code Review"—from Graphite.dev, an A16Z-backed startup building an AI-based automated code review tool, and I have to say how refreshing it was to hear Greg Foster's point of view.
AI tools are only as good as the context we provide them, but who truly understands what that context really is? Humans! What a novel idea. 😝 Sure, AI tools can generate tons of code and even entire product apps, but until they're genuinely involved in idea creation, brainstorming, discussions, customer experiences, and gaining domain knowledge, you'll always need a human in the mix. Ultimately, a person will always have to give the final approval. If humans aren't part of the process, nobody will truly know what's going on, and you won't be able to build a product that genuinely meets people's needs.
So much of product development relies on domain expertise, and that's exactly the kind of nuanced knowledge AI struggles to reproduce accurately, especially when creating something entirely new. There simply isn't enough historical precedence for AI to draw from in these cases.
So, yeah, this post definitely made me smile. We should embrace these tools and actively engage with them as much as possible to ensure our ultimate success.
Here's my favorite snippet from the article:
But let’s be honest: so much vital knowledge never makes its way into any permanent record. We still rely on that intangible fusion of experience, company culture, personal conversations, and intangible intuition. Human + machine context is always greater than the machine alone.
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