@kentcdodds: Engineering away "slop" is one of the most fun things I do! I don't love the term "slop" because it frames it like this…
Summary
Kent C. Dodds argues that preventing AI 'slop' is a straightforward three-step engineering process — high-quality agent PRs, solid PR review, and feature flags with disaster recovery — noting these practices long predate AI agents.
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Engineering away “slop” is one of the most fun things I do!
I don’t love the term “slop” because it frames it like this is a new thing and it’s not.
That said, preventing it, is a pretty simple 3 pronged process:
- Ensure agents create high quality PRs in the first place
- Have good agent PR reviewers to catch problems before they get to prod
- Use feature flags and have a (regularly tested) disaster recovery process if a problem manages to make it to prod
Swap “agent” with “software developer” and you have a process that actually has always been a good idea.
How I do this is the subject of my YouTube video I’m publishing tomorrow.
lauren (@poteto): something that keeps bothering me is how some people see slop as something that is happening to them, like they’re some kind of helpless bystander powerless to do anything about it
excuse me but you are a software engineer, you literally learned how to make sand think and make
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