Ray Myers

Now that the value of coding agents in practical software engineering has been established, many people assume that going fully agentic is the logical conclusion. This culminates in a vision called the Dark Software Factory - we eventually turn the lights off and never see code again.

This talk takes the opposite position: Dark Software Factory is flawed as a general recommendation, and being "more agentic" is not always better. The vision of virtual employees isn't engineering-driven. It's fueled by fundraising narratives, investor pressure, and executives justifying layoffs.

The proposed alternative is The Show-Me Method. Decide based on evidence which parts of your application are "code worth writing" and which should be left to agents. Evolve the boundaries over time in support of business needs. Aim for high leverage with minimal risk. This involves awareness of your sources of risk and "defense in depth" practices that build on the principles of Continuous Delivery.

Anti-Pattern 1: Engineering malpractice. If the rush to signal AI adoption undermines our responsibilities to security, privacy, and reliability, that is harmful. We have a profession and are trusted to uphold a reasonable standard of care, such as the ACM Code of Ethics.

Anti-Pattern 2: Unorganized labor. Many software engineering teams fear mismanagement and layoffs but are not positioned to respond with collective action. The first step is learning how this works in other trades.