The big question in software development given the rise of AI coding tools is what do you do when execution is free? But it turns out it’s free as in puppy not free as in beer.

10x the code means 10x bugs and 10x the security holes. Prioritization is also harder when you can now literally do it all.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/technology/ai-code-overload.html

The Big Bang: A.I. Has Created a Code Overload

Companies are scrambling to deal with the glut.

The New York Times
@carnage4life as someone who will live within 1/4 mile of FOURTEEN data centers, it ain't free. The costs are simply being obfuscated from the user.

@carnage4life

"free as in puppy not free as in beer"

I need to remember this for some upcoming workplace conversations.

@dancast @carnage4life I'm just here to admire the precision of that phrasing.
@carnage4life Execution requires both resources and management. Coding resources may be almost free but as complexity skyrockets, clear and intentional management becomes key.
@carnage4life Another way to think about how this will play out is other places where execution has become near-free. Photography, film-making, music, writing, pretty much all the arts. But there’s also areas where the up-front-cost is zero and other costs are reasonable and proportional. Cloud computing, learning (without getting credentials), software publishing, drop-shipping, … life goes on, new business models and entrepreneurial endeavors emerge.