AI BriefingMy View on the Current State of AI
Key point
AI companies are reshaping how work gets done by boosting R&D engineering speed by about 1.6x through AI tools.
Details
Currently, AI companies are actively integrating AI tools into their work to accelerate R&D engineering speed. As of early 2026, the serial research engineering speed at OpenAI and Anthropic is estimated to have improved by about 1.6x.
This productivity gain isn't just about finishing existing work faster. Engineers are adapting by using AI's help to perform new types of work that were previously impossible, or by shifting their workflows toward lower-value tasks where AI is especially useful.
However, AI-assisted development shows the following characteristics:
- Lower code quality: AI-generated code can be less sophisticated or less reliable than code written directly by humans, and carries the risk of reduced understanding of the system as a whole.
- Lower testing costs: Thanks to AI, testing costs are lower, which tends to reduce other types of errors.
The degree of acceleration varies by company. Anthropic appears to be experiencing higher engineering acceleration than OpenAI, and OpenAI appears to be enjoying a much higher level of acceleration than GDM (Google DeepMind).
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