Don't waste your back pressure

4 months ago

Successful agent applications use structured feedback for quality and correctness.
Back pressure helps agents identify mistakes and stay aligned with tasks longer.
Engineers can delegate complex tasks to agents with increased trust in results.
Agents with limited tools (e.g., file editing) require manual feedback, reducing scalability.
Providing agents with tools like bash commands allows self-correction, freeing engineers for higher-complexity tasks.
Expressive type systems create back pressure by enforcing contracts and identifying edge cases.
Languages with clear error messages (e.g., Rust, Elm) improve agent feedback loops.
UI testing tools (e.g., Playwright, Chrome DevTools) enable agents to self-validate changes.
Proof assistants (e.g., Lean), fuzzing, and logic programming enhance agent correctness.
Spec-driven development with automated documentation (e.g., OpenAPI) helps agents self-assess API schemas.
Investing in back pressure scales agent contributions and reduces manual oversight.

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