AI coding tools speed up writing but may slow down fixing

New research shows AI coding tools are now a must-have for developers in 2026, but they might be making code quality worse. A lab called METR found developers simply can't work without AI anymore, so they couldn't even run a normal comparison test.

There's growing evidence that AI-generated code creates more maintenance work. 44% of AI usage is spent fixing bugs made by AI itself, and AI code is 1.7 times more likely to have problems than human-written code. Amazon shut down its internal AI usage rankings because employees were gaming the system, and Uber burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in just four months.

Experts say programmers need to learn AI's strengths and weaknesses like a second language, build proper quality checks for AI workflows, and keep humans in charge of core tasks like software architecture.