# Software Reuse in the Generative AI Era: From Cargo Cult Towards AI Native Software Engineering

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.17937 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.17937/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 29 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 22 Jun 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.04079/) (2023)
- [SheetCopilot: Bringing Software Productivity to the Next Level through Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19308/) (2023)
- [AI-driven Development Is Here: Should You Worry?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.07560/) (2022)
- [ChatGPT as a Software Development Bot: A Project-based Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13648/) (2023)
- [Programming with AI: Evaluating ChatGPT, Gemini, AlphaCode, and GitHub Copilot for Programmers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.09224/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Inside the Skill Market: From Software Engineering Activities to Reusable Agent Skills](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.09065/) (2026)
- [Shift-Up: A Framework for Software Engineering Guardrails in AI-native Software Development -- Initial Findings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.20436/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Software development is currently under a paradigm shift in which artificial intelligence and generative software reuse are taking the center stage in software creation. Consequently, earlier software reuse practices and methods are rapidly being replaced by AI-assisted approaches in which developers place their trust on code that has been generated by artificial intelligence. This is leading to a new form of software reuse that is conceptually not all that different from cargo cult development. In this paper we discuss the implications of AI-assisted generative software reuse in the context of emerging "AI native" software engineering, bring forth relevant questions, and define a tentative research agenda and call to action for tackling some of the central issues associated with this approach.