Does code quality matter for AI generated code?

A large part of code quality and the use of conventions and standards to ensure its readability has long been considered important for the maintainability of code. But does it matter if "AI" is creating the code and can provide a more easily understandable description of it if we really need to read and understand it?

If we get good enough at defining/describing what the code should do, let "AI" create that code, and then we verify that it does do what it's supposed to do, does it matter how the code does whatever it does, or what the code looks like?

Probably not.

My first thought as a counterpoint to this was about the performance of the code. But that's easy to address with "AI":

"CoPilot, do the following:

- Create a benchmark test for the current code.

- Make the code execute faster while still ensuring all the tests still pass successfully.

- Create a new benchmark test for the time the code now takes.

- Report how much time is saved by the new version of the code.

- Report how much money that time-saving saves or makes for the business.

- Send details of the financial benefit to my boss."