{
  "id": 7969842,
  "title": "Show a model your old code and it writes your old bugs: 32 runs, 0% reuse",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/show-a-model-your-old-code-and-it-writes-your-old-bugs-32-runs-0-reuse",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-17T06:47:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/remdore/show-a-model-your-old-code-and-it-writes-your-old-bugs-32-runs-0-reuse-2epm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A reporter asked a model to create a footballer search box on a new game screen, using code from a repository that had been migrated to a single shared component. The model produced 32 components, all calling the same function, even though the repository only contained the shared component and eleven separate components. The model reproduced the same bugs from the existing code, such as arrow key behavior and mobile keyboard issues. However, when given only the documentation for the shared component, the model created 28.6% of calls with non-existent props, while when only the filename was shown, 82.1% of calls invented non-existent props. The documentation did not prevent the mistakes, but including the actual component source did.",
  "summary": "Last July I spent seven pull requests deleting the same component eleven times. Eleven games in my football quiz app had each grown their own search box, and they had drifted apart in the way duplicated code always does: arrow keys behaved four different ways, only four of the eleven kept the mobile keyboard down at the start of a round, several could scroll the page while you were arrowing…",
  "key_points": [
    "Model generates 32 components with same function, despite only shared component in repo",
    "Model reproduces bugs like arrow key behavior and mobile keyboard issues",
    "Documentation fails to prevent incorrect prop usage, while source code does"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Relying on old code to train models can perpetuate existing bugs, but providing actual code can improve accuracy, unlike documentation which may not prevent mistakes.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}