Heard of ‘AI slop’?
There’s something else I’m worried about these days and I’m calling it “AI splurge.”
What is AI Splurge?
AI splurge is the output of AI coding agents when they get overzealous and create more code than you need.
It can take many forms, but here are a few I’ve seen a lot:
- Unrequested extra options added to a command line tool.
- Defensive code to handle cases that should really result in loud errors.
- Over-engineered code ready for a future that will likely never arrive.
AI splurge needlessly complicates your codebase and makes your system harder to understand and work with (for humans and AI.)
In some ways AI splurge is even worse than outright bugs because it’s more likely to go unnoticed and, if unaddressed, will build up relentlessly over time into a monster that will be hard to tame.
How Can You Avoid AI Splurge?
- Code Review: You can try to review all the changes that your AI agent is proposing. Perhaps have an AI reviewer take a look first, with instructions to flag up any unnecessary complexity.
2. Steer Your Agent: You can also include instructions in your AGENTS.md file or equivalent to steer the agent away from splurging in the first place.
For example:
Write the smallest change that solves the stated problem.
This won’t be 100% effective but should help.
3. Periodic Rewrites: A more radical approach may be to periodically rewrite your system from scratch. This may sound crazy, but it’s something that may become increasingly feasible with ideas such as spec-driven development.
What’s the Future of AI Splurge?
Hopefully AI splurge will be a short-lived phenomenon that will fade away as AI agents get more powerful and, presumably, better at keeping systems simple.
I’m optimistic.
For now, though, beware AI splurge!
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