Wattenberger: codebases must distinguish specified vs hinted vs agent-assumed
Wattenberger · x · 2026-10-07
Wattenberger, quoting a thread by thdxr on AI-assisted coding, argues the next problem is that people keep accidentally undoing intentional functionality, because once code lands there's no way to tell what was:
- explicitly specified
- hinted at
- an agent assumption
The quoted thread notes all three are fine individually, but decision history — e.g. discarding candidate solutions 1–4 and settling on 5 — isn't captured by tests, and a later agent may think 'option 3 is simpler' and undo a deliberate trade-off; extra docs are just another thing that drifts.
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