Discussion

• @lennysan Lenny Rachitsky on x

  “Using coding agents well is taking every inch of my 25 years of experience as a software engineer, and it is mentally exhausting. I can fire up four agents in parallel and have them work on four different problems, and by 11am I am wiped out for the day. There is a limit on [vid…

• @levelsio @levelsio on x

  If he'd take 10g creatine he could extend it to at least 2pm

• @josevalim José Valim on x

  The best analogy of how I use coding agents is pair programming. They write the code, I review it. They write the spec, I think about the next problem (sometimes using agents too!). Etc. The only time I ever run more agents (3+) is when I absolutely don't care about the code

• @addyosmani Addy Osmani on x

  Tip: Figure out your personal ceiling for running multiple agents in parallel. We need to accept that more agents running doesn't mean more of _you_ available. The narrative is still mostly about throughput and parallelism, but almost nobody's talking about what it actually

• @nbaschez Nathan Baschez on x

  This is very true in my experience Programming used to feel kind of leisurely and relaxing, like a crossword or sudoku Now it feels more like debate. My raw horsepower is at the limit of my ability to absorb complex information and make decisions with real consequences.

• @simonw Simon Willison on x

  I was a guest on @lennysan's podcast! We talked about agentic engineering and all sorts of other LLM-related topics for 1h39m(!), plus a little bit about kākāpō parrots - here's my selection of highlights from our conversation https://simonwillison.net/...

• @provisionalidea James Rosen-Birch on x

  it is great to see some sanity around the fact that agents increase the need for solid computer science fundamentals and software engineering skill, and using them well takes effort as opposed to the frenetic and hypoxic claims the machines will replace all coders

• @hugobowne Hugo Bowne-Anderson on x

  simon's spot on here and i'm glad someone so prominent is stating this publicly. on top of this, coding agents and the human reward system interact in novel and strange ways we'll be unpacking for years to come imo so stay safe out there, people!

• @paulabartabajo_ Pau Labarta Bajo on x

  I can relate so so much to this. I would also stress, let's not forget about “enjoying” the process of building, and not just the destination. These tools bring us so much closer to the destination, that we might fall into the trap of forgetting about the journey.

• @luizajarovsky Luiza Jarovsky, PhD on x

  🚨 Most of the AI industry seems to ignore what @simonw is saying here. There is a biological LIMIT to humans' cognitive load, and pushing beyond it will likely lead to lower-quality decision-making and ethical/legal risks. I call it the acceleration paradox (more info below).

• @lennysan Lenny Rachitsky on x

  My biggest takeaways from @simonw: 1. November 2025 was an inflection point for AI coding. GPT 5.1 and Claude Opus 4.5 crossed a threshold where coding agents went from “mostly works” to “almost always does what you want it to do.” Software engineers who tinkered over the

• @lennysan Lenny Rachitsky on x

  I asked @simonw what the next leap in AI software engineering is likely to be. He explained the “dark factory” pattern where teams don't write any code or even look at their code. [video]

• @lennysan Lenny Rachitsky on x

  “Using coding agents well is taking every inch of my 25 years of experience as a software engineer.” Simon Willison (@simonw) is one of the most prolific independent software engineers and most trusted voices on how AI is changing the craft of building software. He co-created

• @pmarca Marc Andreessen on x

  AI increases workload. Many such cases.