While generative AI coding tools promise huge efficiency gains for developers, some tech leaders fear the consequences of spawning too much code too fast, resulting in growing levels of complexity, technical debt, and confusion as they try to manage a ballooning pile of software.

IT leaders at United Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, Cardinal Health, Goldman Sachs, and other companies are excited about generative AI’s potential to automate certain parts of the code-writing process and expect it to result in significant productivity gains. However, they are also concerned about the potential for increased technical debt and orphan code.

As the amount of code explodes, CIOs will need to work to control and govern that code and prioritize what to keep, what to junk, and how to run the system. Despite risks, CIOs are pushing forward with testing several generative AI applications, including code generation, and already seeing double-digit efficiency gains in early pilots.