What languages are agent skills written in?
Data from the GitSkills dataset shows a rapid increase in AI agent skills written in languages other than English. This trend suggests that AI development is becoming increasingly decentralized and globalized.
Why it matters
It highlights a shift in the AI ecosystem where non-English speakers are actively shaping agent behavior, challenging the dominance of English in software development.
Plicara Research 2026-08-24 Download PDF
In the first quarter of 2026, 13.0% of newly written agent skills were in a language other than English, and one quarter later it was 16.3%. That is three points in three months across 255,068 skills, with confidence intervals nowhere near touching. For comparison, GitHub-wide non-English documentation took ten years to travel from 3.7% to 13.0%, so whatever is happening here is happening at a different speed entirely, and the most plausible explanation is that AI development has arrived somewhere other than San Francisco.
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