Like a lot of developers, I use AI almost every day now.
Need a regex? AI.
Need to understand an error? AI.
Need to write a quick API? AI.
Recently I wondered…
"Can AI review my code for security issues?"
So I gave it one of my small projects and asked it to point out potential vulnerabilities.
The result was interesting.
It Found Things I Missed
To be fair, AI wasn't useless.
It pointed out a few things that genuinely needed attention.
Hardcoded configuration values
Missing input validation
A couple of places where error messages revealed too much information
Some code that could be cleaned up
For a first review, that's actually impressive.
It was like having another developer quickly skim through the project.
But Then It Started Inventing Problems
This was the surprising part.
AI confidently told me one section of code was vulnerable to SQL injection.
The problem?
There wasn't even a database involved.
Another time it warned me about an authentication issue...
...inside a file that had absolutely nothing to do with authentication.
The explanations sounded convincing.
But once I actually checked the code, the "issues" simply weren't there.
That's when I realized something important.
AI isn't reviewing your application.
It's predicting what security issues are likely based on patterns it's seen before.
Sometimes that's incredibly useful.
Sometimes it's confidently wrong.
Security Needs Context
A human reviewer asks questions like:
What's this application actually supposed to do?
Who can access this endpoint?
Is this internal or public?
Where does this data come from?
What's the business risk if this fails?
AI doesn't always have that context.
It only knows what you've shown it.
That's a huge limitation.
It Missed One Thing I Expected It to Catch
This surprised me the most.
I had intentionally left a small authorization mistake in one route.
Nothing dramatic.
Just a missing permission check.
AI never mentioned it.
A human developer looking at the project probably would've asked:
"Wait… shouldn't this endpoint require authentication?"
That reminded me that security isn't just about spotting suspicious code.
It's about understanding how the entire application behaves.
So... Is AI Bad at Security?
Not at all.
I actually think it's one of the best productivity tools developers have.
I still use it to:
Explain unfamiliar code
Review functions
Suggest improvements
Generate tests
Summarize documentation
Brainstorm security ideas
But I no longer expect it to replace an actual security review.
What Changed for Me
Instead of asking:
"Is my code secure?"
I now ask AI much smaller questions.
For example:
"Can you review only the authentication logic?"
"Do you see any input validation issues here?"
"Could this endpoint expose sensitive information?"
"Is this SQL query safe?"
"Would this API design cause security problems?"
The answers became much more useful.
My Biggest Takeaway
AI is like having a very fast junior developer sitting next to you.
Sometimes it catches something you completely missed.
Sometimes it confidently suggests something that makes no sense.
Your job isn't to blindly accept every suggestion.
Your job is to understand why it's making that suggestion.
That's still where human experience matters.
Final Thoughts
I don't think AI is replacing secure coding anytime soon.
If anything, it's making developers even more responsible.
Because now we don't just review our own code.
We also have to review the code AI helps us write.
And honestly…
I think that's a skill every developer should start practicing now.
Have you ever asked AI to review your code?
Did it find a real issue—or did it confidently invent one?
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