# Why human oversight is shifting from writing code to defining requirements

DevFeed: [Why human oversight is shifting from writing code to defining requirements](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-human-oversight-is-shifting-from-writing-code-to-defining-requirements-41303.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://thenewstack.io/human-oversight-defining-requirements/>)

Author: Naseeb Ahmed Mian

Published: 2026-09-17T13:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [The New Stack](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/the-new-stack.md>)

Topics: [Requirements](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/requirements.md>), [AI Agent](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai-agent.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [Availability](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/availability.md>)

Tags: [agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agent.md>), [agents](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agents.md>), [ai-agents](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-agents.md>), [ai-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai-engineering.md>), [andela](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/andela.md>), [automated](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automated.md>), [availability](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/availability.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [pipeline](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pipeline.md>), [post-contributed](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/post-contributed.md>), [requirements](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/requirements.md>), [review](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/review.md>), [software-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-development.md>), [sponsor-andela](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sponsor-andela.md>), [sponsored-post-contributed](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sponsored-post-contributed.md>), [tests](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tests.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that human oversight of AI-assisted software development should focus on defining and reviewing requirements, not only checking whether generated code conforms to them. It illustrates the risk with a flawed availability-related requirement that passed specification review, generated six passing tests, traceability checks, and automated QA while violating the feature's intended outcome.

## Source excerpt

This walks through the pipeline our agents operate inside--from a recorded scoping meeting through unit specs, spec review, generated code, The post Why human oversight is shifting from writing code to defining requirements appeared first on The New Stack.