IEEE Spectrum details AI code review bottleneck

Generative AI did not eliminate the software engineering bottleneck—it simply transferred the burden downstream from code creation to code verification, exposing the limits of automated trust. The verification bottleneck is compounding faster than generation speed, as reviewing complex machine logic demands high cognitive overhead and overwhelms human reviewers. Meanwhile, automating boilerplate tasks deprives entry-level developers of the practice needed to build architectural judgment, risking future senior engineering talent. Successful teams are shifting from reactive prompting to rigorous upfront specifications and deterministic test harnesses, while enforcing strict code accountability to prevent theater approval from accumulating silent technical debt.