The Dark Factory Era: Companies Now Building Software Without Human Code Review
StrongDM reveals AI agents writing and shipping code with zero human oversight, spending $1,000+ per engineer daily on tokens
StrongDM has publicly revealed its approach to what industry observers are calling "Dark Factory" development—a paradigm where specifications and test scenarios drive AI agents that write code, run harnesses, and converge on solutions without human intervention.
The company's rules are stark: "Code must not be written by humans. Code must not be reviewed by humans." Their metric for success? If engineers aren't spending at least $1,000 on AI tokens daily, there's room for improvement.
This approach is gaining traction across the industry. Developer Alain Di Chiappari reports that coding agents have "replaced every framework I used," fundamentally changing how software gets built.
Meanwhile, AI researcher Vishal Sikka offers a counterpoint, warning that LLMs should never run alone. His solution: companion bots that verify the primary agent's work, creating a system of AI checks and balances.
Analysis
Why This Matters
This represents a fundamental shift in how software gets built. If successful at scale, it could dramatically reduce development costs while raising questions about code quality, security, and the role of human developers.
Background
The "Dark Factory" concept draws from manufacturing, where lights-out factories operate with minimal human presence. Applied to software, it suggests a future where human engineers become architects of AI systems rather than writers of code.
Key Perspectives
Proponents argue AI-written code, combined with comprehensive test suites, can be more reliable than human code. Critics worry about accountability, security vulnerabilities, and the risk of AI systems making "inhuman mistakes" that humans would catch.
What to Watch
Whether this approach spreads beyond early adopters, and how traditional software companies respond to the competitive pressure of dramatically lower development costs.