scikit-learn creator on coding agents: 'They get you to do stupid things faster with more energy'
GaelVaroquaux · x · 2026-10-09
Gaël Varoquaux, CSO of Probabl and creator of scikit-learn, coined a memorable line on Vanishing Gradients: "agents are like coffee. They can get you to do stupid things faster with more energy." In a panel with guests from Bain and PyMC Labs, he discussed the state of agentic data science: what to delegate, how to verify results, and his observation that experienced data scientists genuinely get more done with agents while non-experts only think they do—checking whether a runnable, accurate analysis actually supports your conclusion remains the hard part.
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