This audit measures whether your engineering and product teams retain independent judgement when building with AI tools, or whether AI recommendations are replacing that judgement. Strong scores mean your team understands what it builds before shipping it.
Require engineers to write a one-sentence explanation of why they chose each AI suggestion. This catches the moment judgement is actually being skipped.
Track code origin by tool (Copilot, ChatGPT, manual). After six weeks, compare bug rates. Patterns will show you which tools need more rigorous review.
Schedule monthly 30-minute sessions where engineers explain a piece of AI-generated code they shipped. If they cannot explain it clearly, that code needs rework before the next sprint.
When competitive pressure hits, ask explicitly whether you are choosing speed over understanding. Make that choice visible to leadership so it can be reversed if needed.
Create a 'judgement checkpoint' in your deployment pipeline. One engineer who did not write the code must sign off by explaining the system to someone else in the room.