Invisible Code Duplicates: Why AI Rewrites the Same Logic Across Your Codebase

AI-assisted development introduces a hidden cost: when code is logically identical but syntactically different, AI models fail to recognize it as duplication, wasting context tokens and perpetuating redundancy. Semantic duplicate detection through AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) analysis can reduce code duplication by up to 85%, enabling AI to better understand existing patterns and generate more coherent, non-redundant suggestions.