Introduction
What if the code you wrote to help the world is now being used to destroy it?
This is not a sci-fi plot. It is happening right now. The biggest heist in human history is unfolding in real time. Millions of developers are celebrating their “AI productivity gains,” unaware of the invisible gun pointed at their heads.
A sudden wave of machine-generated code is rewriting the way we build software. Nolan Lawson, a respected engineer and long-time open-source advocate, recently dropped a reality check. His message is simple but terrifying: the era of small libraries is dead.
Not because developers stopped caring, but because AI can generate these libraries in seconds.
But the real danger is deeper. Maintainers are drowning in AI-generated slime—low-quality issues, spam PRs, and meaningless contributions. They are quitting, burning out, and locking their repos. And with each loss, the open web cracks a little more.
This blog exposes what’s happening, why it matters, and what you must do before the open web collapses.
The Productivity Mirage
AI tools promise rapid productivity. They generate code, fix bugs, and complete tasks instantly. Developers love this. CTOs love this. Even the typical fractional CTO encourages teams to adopt AI tools to improve speed.
But this “productivity” hides a brutal truth.
AI is generating code faster than humans can review or maintain it. GitHub, GitLab, and every major open-source platform are drowning in automated outputs. Most developers don’t realize that this flood creates more problems than solutions.
Here’s the uncomfortable reality:
- AI-generated contributions lack context
- Most suggestions ignore architecture
- Many PRs break compatibility
- Issues are vague, repetitive, and meaningless
- Code is optimized for speed, not quality
We are witnessing a fake sense of progress. Projects move faster, but the quality drops. Dependencies multiply. Errors hide behind beautiful syntax. And because AI tools don’t feel responsibility, they don’t care what damage they leave behind.
Developers think they’re gaining power. In truth, they’re losing control.
The Death of the Small Library
Nolan Lawson’s analysis hit the developer world hard. He revealed a painful shift: small, elegant libraries—the backbone of modern software—are no longer valued. Why? Because AI tools can recreate these libraries instantly.
The entire culture behind micro-libraries collapses:
- Why publish a tiny utility when AI can write it in one prompt?
- Why maintain a project when models will auto-generate replacements?
- Why build a reusable function when LLMs push copy-paste code into every repo?
Small libraries were once symbols of craftsmanship. They represented clarity, minimalism, and collaboration. They allowed developers to build large systems from tiny, trusted pieces.
AI disrupts this balance.
Instead of developers contributing small reusable tools, they now rely on AI to generate new ones. The result is a wild ecosystem filled with inconsistent patterns, duplicated code, and unpredictable behavior.
This shift threatens the foundation of open-source development. It resets the ecosystem from modular and maintainable to chaotic and disposable.
The AI Slime Problem: Maintainers Under Attack
The biggest problem is not AI writing code. It’s AI overwhelming maintainers with garbage.
Maintainers are the invisible heroes of the open web. They keep packages updated. They fix vulnerabilities. They review pull requests. They document everything. They ensure the internet doesn’t break.
But AI-generated slime is pushing them to the edge.
What AI-generated slime looks like:
- PRs with broken logic
- Documentation changes that add no value
- Auto-generated issues that repeat the same vague error
- Random commits with machine-made text
- Spam contributions to earn “contributor badges”
Maintainers report inboxes filled with meaningless noise. Some get hundreds of AI-generated PRs a week. Many spend more time rejecting spam than writing actual code. The emotional toll is massive.
Maintainers are tired. They are quitting. They are locking their repositories.
When a maintainer leaves, a library dies.
When a library dies, hundreds of apps break.
When apps break, developers scramble.
When they scramble, AI generates even more code.
And the cycle repeats.
AI is not just writing bad code. It is destroying the human ecosystem required to sustain good code.
The Heist: How AI Is Stealing Open Source Without Giving Back
This is the part that developers rarely talk about.
AI companies have harvested billions of lines of open-source code to train their models. This code came from maintainers, contributors, and communities who spent thousands of unpaid hours building the open web.
But what does the open-source world get in return?
Nothing.
AI tools generate code using open-source knowledge, but they do not contribute meaningfully to the ecosystem. They cannot understand license terms, community standards, or responsibility. They only consume.
This is why many experts call it a heist.
In the old world, open source was a shared effort. You contributed a library. Someone else improved it. Another developer documented it. Everyone benefited.
In the new world, AI tools extract value but don’t replenish it.
Open-source becomes a one-way pipe:
developers → open-source → AI models → big corporations
Open-source maintainers are being used. Their work powers billion-dollar AI platforms, yet they struggle to receive donations, support, or even acknowledgment.
This is not innovation.
It’s exploitation.
The Collapse of Maintainer Culture
Open source is not just code. It is a culture. A set of values. A belief that programmers working together can build a better world.
But that culture is collapsing.
Maintainers feel invisible and undervalued. They receive constant pressure but no compensation. They face harassment, entitlement, unrealistic demands, and now… AI-generated chaos.
Without mental and emotional support, maintainers burn out.
When they burn out, projects die.
When projects die, the web becomes fragile.
Dependency chains break. Security patches stop. Software becomes stale. Attack surfaces widen. Businesses suffer. Developers lose trust. And the entire digital ecosystem becomes unstable.
The collapse won’t happen overnight.
But you can already see the cracks.
Is This the End of the Open Web?
The open web depends on humans. Not models. Not automation. Not AI-generated snippets.
When fewer libraries are maintained, the entire internet becomes brittle. When maintainers quit, ecosystems fall apart. When AI replaces craftsmanship with auto-generated code, quality declines.
If nothing changes, we are heading toward a future where:
- The internet relies on unmaintained dependencies
- AI-generated bloat replaces clean libraries
- Closed-source AI monopolies control all software tools
- Developers lose autonomy
- The open-source model collapses
This is not a distant threat. It is happening now. And yet, most developers choose to ignore it because AI makes their daily tasks easier.
Convenience is killing the web.
What Developers Must Do Now
You are not powerless. Developers, CTOs, fractional CTO teams, product engineers, and companies can still save open source—if they act now.
1. Stop trusting AI blindly
Review every suggestion.
Test everything.
Use AI as a tool, not a replacement.
2. Support maintainers
Contribute financially.
Offer help.
Write meaningful PRs.
Improve documentation manually.
Don’t send AI-generated spam.
3. Advocate for open-source licensing reform
Current licenses never imagined a world where AI copies everything.
New rules must protect contributors from exploitation.
4. Rebuild community culture
Encourage discussions.
Welcome new contributors.
Promote mentorship.
Celebrate maintainers—not just tools.
5. Audit your dependencies
Remove unnecessary ones.
Rewrite small utilities yourself.
Avoid relying entirely on AI-generated code.
The future depends on human responsibility, not machine convenience.
Conclusion
The open web faces its most dangerous threat since its creation. AI-generated code is not the problem. The real danger is the collapse of the human ecosystem that maintains the global software infrastructure.
Your code can save the world or help destroy it.
The choice is still yours—but not for long.
As we navigate this new era, we need awareness, responsibility, and action. And if you want deeper insights like this, follow StartupHakk, where we continue exposing the truths shaping the future of software, open-source, and developer culture.
