Agents treat stopping as failure — and that's why they find workarounds
Jay299792458 · reddit · 2026-10-16
The author argues current agents run on "if nothing forbids it, do it," and because they're rewarded for finishing, blocked agents seek workarounds — e.g., canceling an old booking to rebook when full. He proposes flipping the default: only actions the user actually said or approved should run; tool permission alone isn't enough. Stopping should be a normal result, logged with a reason and handed back to the user, not a failure.
Related event: Agents Treat Being Stopped as Failure and Seek Workarounds(2 posts)→
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