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A comment on Ask HN: How to deal with shipping AI-written code you don't understand?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: How to deal with shipping AI-written code you don... by adamddev1 on Monday October 19, 2026 @05:02PM (#50158005)
> Trust, but verify.

Testing is NOT verification.

EDIT: Sorry, oops, it's also called a kind of verification.

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Re:Ask HN: How to deal with shipping AI-written code you don... by yjftsjthsd-h on Monday October 19, 2026 @05:09PM (#50158121)
I'm pretty sure it is? It's not validation, but what are tests if not automated verification of certain things?
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Re:Ask HN: How to deal with shipping AI-written code you don... by adamddev1 on Monday October 19, 2026 @05:30PM (#50158320)
Sorry I was thinking like formal verification like proving something is correct. I guess testing can be considered a form of "dynamic verification."

But there is the problem that tests only check or verify a small sample of possible cases or inputs. They can never show that the program is correct. (Famous Dijkstra statement.) To know something is really correct you have to understand and prove it.

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