Human-AI IntersectionSimon Willison

tldraw issue: Move tests to closed source repo

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ai-policyregulatory-impactai-coding-tools

A comprehensive test suite is enough to build a completely fresh implementation of any open source library from scratch, potentially in a different language

Key takeaways

  • AI coding tools can use comprehensive test suites to reverse-engineer entire codebases, creating new IP vulnerability for open source projects
  • tldraw is moving tests to private repos as defensive measure, signaling broader concern about AI-enabled code replication
  • Open source business models built on 'open code + commercial support' may need fundamental rethinking as AI agents can replicate implementations from test specifications alone
  • The joke issue about translating code to Traditional Chinese highlights absurdity of trying to defend against AI through obfuscation
  • This represents a new category of AI impact: not replacing developers, but undermining open source sustainability models

Why this matters for operators: Companies with open-source-adjacent business models need to rethink IP protection strategies in the AI era

I cover AI×GTM intelligence like this every Wednesday.

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This analysis was produced using the STEEPWORKS system — the same agents, skills, and knowledge architecture available in the GrowthOS package.