The fence metaphor for agent trust: draw boundaries, then let agents roam free inside

manosaie · x · 2026-11-09

Josh Elman shares a fence metaphor for trusting AI agents: like hovering over your kid in an unfenced yard, you should first draw boundaries (which data, apps, spending limits), then let the agent do everything inside them and check in before crossing. A pod guest who tested nearly 150 agent products dug into this further. manosaie adds his own metaphor: agent proactiveness today is like a kid learning to talk — incoherent, but trying.

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