Note on 24th September 2026
Willison argues coding agents raise the skill and discipline needed to engineer software well.
Simon Willison writes that more time with coding agents has convinced him they make software engineering harder, not easier. He says the tools can produce impressive results, but getting full value requires extraordinary discipline and knowledge. The note is practitioner opinion tagged around coding agents, AI, and LLMs, with no product release or security incident.
- Author says coding agents raise the bar for engineers
- Full value requires unusual discipline and domain knowledge
- Note is opinion, not a model, tool, or incident report
From the original article
The more time I spend working with coding agents, the more convinced I am that they make software engineering even harder. We can do amazing things with them, but unlocking their full potential requires extraordinary discipline and knowledge. Tags: coding-agents , ai , llms
simonwillison.net
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