Cheap models + control system + time: the reliability formula, per Greg Mushen
gregmushen · x · 2026-09-27
Greg Mushen shared an engineering takeaway on X: lower-tier models make mistakes a higher-tier model wouldn't, and without a control system in place that can go badly.
His formula: cheap models + a control system + time. Attach a lower-tier model to a control system and it can be wrong locally while correcting itself globally — trading cost for reliability instead of just paying for a better model.
More from coding & agent
- Dev turns Annecy into a playable 3D boat tour using Claude Opus 5.5 and Three.js — techartist_ · 2026-09-27
- One-shot with Opus: a PHP 4.1.1 simulator with Zend Engine compiled to WebAssembly — generativist · 2026-09-27
- DHH on AI coding: thinking "architecture" is your fortress? Models are good at that too — tawnniee · 2026-09-27
- Reverse engineering with coding agents: set it up overnight, wake up to source — moyix · 2026-09-27
- ThePrimeagen joins DHH's Omarchy Core to lead agentic QA with Oligarchy harness — mark_k · 2026-09-27
- LLMs don't write better code — they accelerate the glue work of integrating libraries — markjeffrey · 2026-09-27