Most Devs Don't Trust AI-Generated Code, But Fail To Check It Anyway
The Register, Friday, January 9th, 2026
Developer survey from Sonar finds AI tool adoption has created a verification bottleneck
Talk about letting things go! Ninety-six percent of software developers believe AI-generated code isn't functionally correct, yet only 48 percent say they always check code generated with AI assistance before committing it.
This conveniently self-validating statistic comes from Sonar, a company that sells code review and verification software, in its State of Code Developer Survey.
Based on data from more than 1,100 developers worldwide, the survey finds that AI coding tools have become the norm, with 72 percent of developers who have tried these tools using them every day or multiple times a day. And only six percent report occasional usage, meaning less than once a week.