AI Coding Agents Build Fast but Break Architecture Faster, Experts Warn

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AI coding agents are generating code at unprecedented speed, but experts say they accumulate 'agentic technical debt' faster than any review process can manage. In complex, regulated environments — such as mixed C++ and .NET codebases — the real risk is architectural drift, including broken dependency-injection boundaries and tightly coupled modules. Proposed safeguards include a mandatory context-interrogation step before any code is written, a dual-agent model where a separate verifier audits the builder's output, and structural pipeline controls rather than relying on prompt-based instructions. Governance frameworks are also criticised for conflating different types of risk, leading to over-gating of low-risk tasks while high-risk changes slip through unchecked. The core argument is that meaningful AI code governance requires mechanical enforcement at the pipeline level, not just well-documented conventions.

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