Martin Fowler: Technical, Cognitive, and Intent Debt
Summary
Martin Fowler discusses debt in AI-enabled software, distinguishing technical debt, cognitive debt, and intent debt. He reflects on a Pragmatic Summit discussion where AI's impact on coding was central, highlighting risks of over-reliance on LLMs and the value of human-centric practices like TDD, YAGNI, and disciplined abstractions to keep systems maintainable.