AI Could Prove CIOs' Worst Tech Debt Yet
CIO, Tuesday, October 7th, 2025
AI-generated code and rampant AI experimentation can create their own types of costly legacy IT systems - especially when expediency and lack of oversight are the norm.
Some AI advocates promote the technology as a solution for rooting out expensive technical debt, but IT leaders are finding that too many pilot projects or too much reliance on AI-generated code can create their own problems.
AI tools can be used to clean up old code and trim down bloated software, thus reducing one major form of tech debt. In September, for example, Microsoft announced a new suite of autonomous AI agents designed to automatically modernize legacy Java and .NET applications.