Code Is Cheap. Review Is Expensive.
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AI coding agents have inverted the traditional economics of open source: generating code is now cheap and fast, but reviewing it is increasingly expensive. Plausible-looking AI-generated PRs can take longer to review than to rewrite from scratch, and the volume of contributions is outpacing maintainers' capacity to evaluate them. The author argues that the scarce resource is now human judgment, not code. Practical responses include requiring issue-first discussions before PRs, automating minimum contribution bars, being honest about source-available vs. truly open projects, and keeping humans responsible for judgment calls about whether a change belongs in the product at all.
