AI Can Write Code Faster Than I Can Responsibly Review It

Short summary

A developer using Claude Code daily describes a new bottleneck: AI generates code faster than humans can build reliable mental models of it. This creates 'review debt' where accepted but not fully understood code becomes future liability. The author now separates thinking from writing—asking the agent for its approach and assumptions before allowing edits—and reviews full critical paths for auth, billing, and data handling instead of just changed functions.

• •AI coding agents create 'review debt'—code ships faster than it can be fully understood
• •Critical paths (auth, billing, webhooks) require full-path review, not just diff review
• •Separate design from implementation: get the agent's plan and assumptions before letting it edit

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.