There seems to be an unstated assumption here that "handcrafted" code is somehow _better_ or _more desirable_ than AI-written code, all else being equal. I would ask for evidence of that claim.

I've worked in corporate environments for nearly two decades, and I can assure you that I have seen a lot of very low-quality "handcrafted" code running in production. I don't really see "handcrafted" as a signifier of quality, even if I agree that SOME SPECIFIC handcrafted code is better than SOME SPECIFIC AI-written code (and vice versa).

Yeah, can't agree more, and my experience is pretty much the same as you describe.