# 10x in the AI Age

*Interactive version: [View on web](/articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html)*


Steven Tey's daily commits jumped from 5 to 24 (+380%). Lines of code rose from 891 to 4,363 (+390%). Active hours increased from 3 to 8 (+167%). His timeline transforms from sporadic activity to sustained, dense productivity.

This isn't an outlier—it's the extreme end of a pattern visible across elite developers. We analyzed 18 prominent open-source developers across two six-month periods: **<span class="period-pre-ai">pre-AI</span>** (Jun-Nov 2022) and **<span class="period-recent-ai">pre-agentic-AI</span>** (Nov 2024-Apr 2025). The recent period captures mature human-in-the-loop collaboration, before autonomous agents became widespread.

- 53% increased daily commits (median +25% among increasers)
- 67% increased lines per day (median +91% among increasers)
- Median across all developers: 0% commits/day, +2% LOC/day
- Range: -40% to +380% for commits; -76% to +390% for lines

The "AI raises the floor" narrative dominates discussion. The data shows the ceiling rose too—some already-elite developers found massive additional leverage.

Each developer name below links to their [Vibe Gain Explorer](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html) page with complete timelines, session patterns, detailed metrics, and methodology.

## Increased Output

Several developers dramatically increased their output during the AI era.

[Steven Tey](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#steven-tey) (Dub creator, Vercel contributor) anchors the high end. The numbers in the opening (+380% commits, +390% lines) only tell part of the story—his timeline transforms from sporadic bursts to sustained daily output.

*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


[Michael Klishin](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#michaelklishin) (RabbitMQ core maintainer): daily commits up 67% (6→10), lines up 177% (198→548). Commits per hour doubled while maintaining focused work sessions.

## Michael Klishin's commits per hour

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| Min | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 20.00 | 19.00 |
| Q1 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Q3 | 2.00 | 3.00 |
| P5 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| P95 | 4.00 | 7.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | 411.00 | 416.00 |
| 2 | 148.00 | 206.00 |
| 3-4 | 94.00 | 169.00 |
| 5-9 | 33.00 | 123.00 |
| 10-19 | - | 12.00 |
| 20-49 | 1.00 | - |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Henrik Rydgård](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#hrydgard) (PPSSPP emulator creator): commits up 83%, lines up 125%. Active days held steady (162 to 163), active hours per day rose from 4 to 6, commits per hour doubled.

## Henrik Rydgård's lines changed per active day

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 513.00 | 1152.00 |
| Min | 2.00 | 7.00 |
| Max | 28244.00 | 60984.00 |
| Q1 | 153.00 | 376.00 |
| Q3 | 1286.00 | 2018.00 |
| P5 | 19.00 | 30.00 |
| P95 | 3721.00 | 6502.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | - | - |
| 2-4 | 1.00 | - |
| 5-9 | 5.00 | 2.00 |
| 10-24 | 6.00 | 5.00 |
| 25-49 | 9.00 | 4.00 |
| 50-99 | 11.00 | 5.00 |
| 100-199 | 20.00 | 10.00 |
| 200-499 | 27.00 | 23.00 |
| 500-999 | 31.00 | 28.00 |
| 1000-1999 | 28.00 | 42.00 |
| 2000-4999 | 21.00 | 30.00 |
| 5000-9999 | - | 6.00 |
| 10000+ | 3.00 | 8.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Anthony Fu](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#antfu) (Vue.js core team) maintained exactly 9 daily commits in both periods but more than doubled daily lines (+119%, from 3,011 to 6,583). Lines per commit jumped from 24 to 34 (+42%), achieved while reducing active hours from 4 to 3.

## Anthony Fu's lines changed per active day

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 3011.00 | 6583.00 |
| Min | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 27272.00 | 102353.00 |
| Q1 | 709.00 | 1100.00 |
| Q3 | 6003.00 | 12767.00 |
| P5 | 65.00 | 29.00 |
| P95 | 13522.00 | 35007.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | - | 1.00 |
| 2-4 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| 5-9 | 2.00 | - |
| 10-24 | 1.00 | 4.00 |
| 25-49 | 3.00 | 4.00 |
| 50-99 | 9.00 | 1.00 |
| 100-199 | 11.00 | 4.00 |
| 200-499 | 11.00 | 8.00 |
| 500-999 | 14.00 | 9.00 |
| 1000-1999 | 30.00 | 8.00 |
| 2000-4999 | 40.00 | 23.00 |
| 5000-9999 | 38.00 | 34.00 |
| 10000+ | 19.00 | 50.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Mitchell Hashimoto](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#mitchellh) (HashiCorp founder): stable commit rates (7→7 daily) but 61% increase in lines per day (337→543). Active hours increased from 3 to 4, with time spans increasing from median 318 to 470 minutes.

## Mitchell Hashimoto's lines changed per active day

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 337.00 | 543.00 |
| Min | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Max | 273740.00 | 32236.00 |
| Q1 | 104.00 | 211.00 |
| Q3 | 1125.00 | 1331.00 |
| P5 | 6.00 | 18.00 |
| P95 | 5937.00 | 4387.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | - | - |
| 2-4 | 2.00 | 3.00 |
| 5-9 | 8.00 | 2.00 |
| 10-24 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| 25-49 | 6.00 | 5.00 |
| 50-99 | 15.00 | 10.00 |
| 100-199 | 19.00 | 12.00 |
| 200-499 | 24.00 | 33.00 |
| 500-999 | 21.00 | 29.00 |
| 1000-1999 | 16.00 | 25.00 |
| 2000-4999 | 11.00 | 19.00 |
| 5000-9999 | 5.00 | 1.00 |
| 10000+ | 3.00 | 5.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Phil Wang](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#lucidrains) (lucidrains, prolific PyTorch paper implementer): commits up 25%, lines up 62%. Commits per hour doubled, session productivity improved significantly (commits per session from 2 to 3, lines per session from 61 to 115).

## Phil Wang's lines per hour

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 37.00 | 56.00 |
| Min | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 1623.00 | 2213.00 |
| Q1 | 11.00 | 21.00 |
| Q3 | 87.00 | 122.00 |
| P5 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| P95 | 287.00 | 270.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | 21.00 | 7.00 |
| 2-4 | 97.00 | 66.00 |
| 5-9 | 89.00 | 55.00 |
| 10-24 | 159.00 | 142.00 |
| 25-49 | 168.00 | 161.00 |
| 50-99 | 169.00 | 222.00 |
| 100-199 | 121.00 | 189.00 |
| 200-499 | 55.00 | 95.00 |
| 500-999 | 16.00 | 10.00 |
| 1000-1999 | 3.00 | 2.00 |
| 2000-4999 | - | 2.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



The pattern across these developers: not just faster coding, but more coding. All increased active hours. The data suggests AI enables sustained high-output development that was previously difficult to maintain.

## Efficiency Gains

Other developers maintained or modestly increased commit frequencies while dramatically improving efficiency.

[Simon Willison](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#simonw) (Datasette creator, Django co-creator): exactly 7 commits per day in both periods. Efficiency improved substantially: lines per hour more than doubled (30→67, +123%), lines per commit increased 67% (6→10).

## Simon Willison's lines per hour

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 30.00 | 67.00 |
| Min | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 13640.00 | 1738999.00 |
| Q1 | 5.00 | 10.00 |
| Q3 | 92.00 | 232.00 |
| P5 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| P95 | 334.00 | 742.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | 10.00 | 12.00 |
| 2-4 | 144.00 | 85.00 |
| 5-9 | 54.00 | 40.00 |
| 10-24 | 87.00 | 72.00 |
| 25-49 | 95.00 | 49.00 |
| 50-99 | 100.00 | 71.00 |
| 100-199 | 77.00 | 75.00 |
| 200-499 | 51.00 | 93.00 |
| 500-999 | 11.00 | 49.00 |
| 1000-1999 | 4.00 | 6.00 |
| 2000-4999 | 3.00 | 2.00 |
| 5000-9999 | - | 2.00 |
| 10000+ | 1.00 | 7.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Linus Torvalds](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#torvalds) (Linux and Git creator): daily commits up 20% (5→6), lines per hour up 23% (219→270). Lines per commit grew from 79 to 105 (+33%).

## Linus Torvalds's commits per day

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 5.00 | 6.00 |
| Min | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 39.00 | 48.00 |
| Q1 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Q3 | 9.00 | 11.00 |
| P5 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| P95 | 20.00 | 23.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | 15.00 | 15.00 |
| 2 | 23.00 | 18.00 |
| 3-4 | 40.00 | 40.00 |
| 5-9 | 54.00 | 47.00 |
| 10-19 | 30.00 | 42.00 |
| 20-49 | 10.00 | 12.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



[Andrew Kane](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#ankane) (Ruby data tools creator): 9→11 commits daily (+22%), maintained across more active days (136→150).

## Andrew Kane's commits per day

| Metric | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|--------|--------|-----------|
| Median | 9.00 | 11.00 |
| Min | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Max | 114.00 | 147.00 |
| Q1 | 5.00 | 3.00 |
| Q3 | 21.00 | 24.00 |
| P5 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| P95 | 51.00 | 44.00 |

| Bin | Pre-AI | Recent-AI |
|-----|--------|-----------|
| 1 | 9.00 | 14.00 |
| 2 | 8.00 | 15.00 |
| 3-4 | 16.00 | 16.00 |
| 5-9 | 37.00 | 25.00 |
| 10-19 | 29.00 | 33.00 |
| 20-49 | 28.00 | 41.00 |
| 50+ | 9.00 | 6.00 |

*View interactive chart at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*

---



The pattern: same or slightly higher commit frequency, significantly higher output per hour. The ceiling rose through efficiency.

## Different Trajectories

Some patterns defy simple categorization—neither straightforward output increases nor efficiency gains, but structural shifts in how work distributed.

[Georgi Gerganov](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#ggerganov) (ggml/whisper.cpp creator): lines per day dropped 73% (251→68), but active days jumped from 90 to 138 (+53%). Shifted from intense bursts to consistent daily work.

*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


[Thibault Duplessis](/articles/vibe-gain-explorer.html#ornicar) (Lichess creator): one of the highest commit volumes in both periods, with substantial increases in the AI era. Pattern suggests AI can amplify already-intense development practices.

*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


*Interactive commit activity visualization - view at: /articles/10x-in-the-ai-age.html*


---

Steven Tey wasn't struggling before AI—he was already prolific. He found ways to sustain 380% more output. Michael Klishin, Henrik Rydgård, Anthony Fu, Mitchell Hashimoto, Phil Wang: all already-exceptional developers who discovered additional capacity.

The ceiling rose.

## Credits

Concept by @restlessronin. Initial analyses (based on llm-readable vibe-gain statistics) created in agent mode by @gemini-3-pro (anti-gravity) and @claude-sonnet-4.5 (claude-code). Rewrite by @claude-opus-4.5. Copy refinements by @claude-sonnet-4.5.


---

## Document History

**Jan 4, 2026:** Made developer references consistent across article, refinements to intro, copy and credits

**Jan 3, 2026:** Tightened intro, replaced Rich Harris with Linus Torvalds in Efficiency Gains section