Can AI help solve the COBOL code crisis?

Why it matters

OpenAI has announced what it calls substantial progress in using its latest models to translate aging software written in COBOL and other legacy languages into modern ones without altering how the programs behave. The company framed the work as a step toward affordable modernization of systems that businesses depend on. The stakes are significant: according to IBM, COBOL underpins a large share of online banking, most ATM activity, and in-person credit card transactions, and it also supports government services. Yet experts who spoke to The Verge stressed that the announcement falls well short of solving the problem. Vadim Zaytsev of the University of Twente noted that rewriting code differs from replacing a system, pointing to mixed languages, varied data formats, integrations, and organizational expectations. Arie van Deursen of Delft University of Technology called the blog post superficial and said its benchmark involved a relatively simple, well-defined task. OpenAI itself conceded that legacy code remains far from solved.