Using Coding Agents, The Most Rapidly-Evolving Core AI Engineering Skill
AI Summary
Andrew Ng outlines a high-level workflow for building software with coding agents: planning, execution, and deployment/monitoring. He details five key skills—directing workflow, enabling agent autonomy, reviewing work, customizing agents, and understanding coding agent foundations—and argues that long-horizon autonomous runs are overhyped compared to iterative, human-guided use.
Key Facts
Author Takes
Long-horizon autonomous coding agents
The practical utility of very long-horizon tasks is amplified beyond reality; most effective coding agent use is a complex, highly iterative process with high-skill human intervention.
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