Agent failures aren't bad outputs — they're uncontrolled execution, argues dev
r0b3rtb · reddit · 2026-10-05
A Reddit poster argues the agent reliability debate over-focuses on prompts, models, and output validation, while production failures are execution-level: agents calling refund with the wrong amount, writing to production, running irreversible tool calls, or continuing multi-step flows after bad intermediate results. The missing layer, they contend, is a deterministic control point before side effects: can this action run, under what hard conditions, does it need approval, and what happens on failure? The thread solicits real-world practice on prompt-level rules vs. pre-execution checks vs. a separate policy/gate layer.
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