Dangerously Skip Reading Code: When LLMs Write Code Faster Than You Can Read It

The premise is simple: what if we stop reading LLM-generated code altogether? Treat it like assembly, bytecode, or transpiled JavaScript — the high-level language source becomes another form of machine code. This idea comes from Thoughtworks' retreat report and Facundo Olano's blog post.

Why this makes sense

LLMs produce non-deterministic output and generate code far faster than humans can read. Reviewing every diff is no longer viable. Instead of giving up on rigor, move it elsewhere: specifications and tests.

Organizational prerequisite

This is not an individual or team decision — it must be organizational. Amdahl's law applies: maximizing code generation speed without restructuring processes yields no real gains. You can't have some devs pumping 20k lines of slop a day while others still read and approve it.

Requirements include:

• Remove humans-in-the-loop, reduce coordination and gate-keeping
• Virtually infinite supply of requirements, engineers owning streams of work autonomously
• Rework is almost free, so don't prevent incorrect work — detect via specs/tests

Proposed workflow

Use a standardized Markdown specification as the new unit of knowledge. Product owners and engineers collaborate on the spec and test cases for business rules. Check these into the repository alongside the implementing code.

Automated pull-request checks verify:

• Tests pass
• Code conforms to the spec

The spec — not the code — is what the team understands, reviews, and is accountable for.

Key distinction

Specifications are not prompts. Tests are not TDD. This is about rigor shifted to the contract layer, not the implementation layer.