The Lisp curse, now coming to your ecosystem

The “Lisp curse” describes how a language’s flexibility can encourage developers to build bespoke solutions instead of adopting shared libraries. That may feel faster for an individual, but it leaves fewer common tools, encourages repeated reinvention, and can produce isolated code that is difficult for others to understand. Tim Zöller argues that AI-assisted coding could bring the same pattern to mainstream ecosystems such as Java. If generating a custom solution with a few prompts seems easier than learning a library’s interface, developers may increasingly choose locally tailored code over established abstractions.

The consequences could extend beyond individual coding choices. Reduced library use would mean less user feedback and fewer contributors for maintainers; meanwhile, developers who can generate what they need may be less willing to package, document, publish, and maintain reusable projects. A shrinking supply of shared libraries could then make custom generation even more attractive, reinforcing isolation. Zöller does not accept that generated code can simply replace proven, tested libraries, and sees that substitution as a version of “not invented here” thinking. But he expects AI coding to persist and believes it may gradually weaken open-source collaboration, leaving software development more solitary - even if the change is less dramatic than some advocates predict.