# Brendan Cody-Kenny: What is the smallest unit of software a human or AI can reliably reason about?

Technical Due Diligence for Software M&A https://sub.xiliary.com/p/brendancodykenny

### 2026-11-08 update #ai #compilers #software-engineering
What is the smallest unit of software a human or AI can reliably reason about?
- Suppose that unit is always tutorial-grade code. Why demand that its author also solve production architecture?
- A compiler could transform that small program into code satisfying the larger system's contracts, boundaries and operational requirements.
- The author works on a comprehensible behaviour; the factory takes responsibility for integration.

https://sub.xiliary.com/p/brendancodykenny/posts/91/what-is-the-smallest-unit-of-software-a-human-or-ai-can