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The Token Trap

Ben Griswold·May 4, 2026·2 min read
The Token Trap

We stopped measuring engineers by lines of code. Then we introduced token usage and leaderboards, and here we are again.

More lines never meant better software. It meant more to maintain. The engineers doing the most valuable work wrote less, not more.

We are rewarding bad behavior again.

You can generate more code than you have time to read, and by the time it shows up in a PR, no one is reading it. So it goes through.

The engineers who will matter in five years are still asking the same question. Should this code exist at all.

Author

BG
Ben Griswold
Founder, Grizen
Ben has 25 years of direct involvement in technology decisions across healthcare, financial services, energy, and technology-enabled businesses. He leads engagements where the stakes are high, the path isn't obvious, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real.

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