💬 QUOTED: “More than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers.”

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Google seems to be practicing what it preaches. CEO Sundar Pichai revealed on the company’s Q3 earnings call Tuesday that 25+% of new code written by the tech giant is generated by AI, which, per Pichai, “is boosting productivity and efficiency…[by helping] our engineers do more and move faster.”

Google devs aren’t the only ones with this approach. According to Stack Overflow’s 2024 Developer Survey, 75+% of respondents are already using or are “planning to use” AI tools to aid software development. Another survey by GitHub indicates 92% of US-based developers are currently using AI coding tools.

But… Like your mom says, just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better. According to a 2023 study out of Stanford University, developers using AI coding assistants tended to include more bugs while paradoxically believing their code is more secure.

🍌💰 STAT OF THE DAY: How much blood, sweat, and tears are needed to create a piece of artwork worth a million bucks? According to Sotheby’s, all it takes is a banana and a roll of duct tape. Last week, the auction house announced plans to put Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous “Comedian” – which consists of a banana duct-taped to a white wall – on the auction block next month. Despite the artwork’s simplicity, Sotheby’s says it’s expected to fetch between $1 million–$1.5 million, with the eventual buyer receiving a certificate of authenticity, official installation instructions, a roll of tape, and one banana – the latter two of which “can be replaced as needed.”

🤔 DID YOU KNOW? At its height, the British Empire was the largest in human history, comprising nearly one-quarter of the world’s land surface and more than one-quarter of its total population. At that point (1919-1922), the saying “The sun never sets on the British Empire” was literally true.

📰 WORTH A READ: Night of the zombie insects → (Knowable Magazine)