{
  "id": 18555092,
  "title": "AI agents are getting more complex. Developers shouldn’t have to babysit them.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/ai-agents-are-getting-more-complex-developers-shouldnt-have-to",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-06T19:35:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The New Stack",
    "slug": "the-new-stack",
    "url": "https://thenewstack.io/harness-engineering-coding-agents/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In recent years, artificial intelligence agents have become increasingly sophisticated, necessitating less human intervention for their operation. Rather than requiring developers to continuously monitor and correct errors, AI agents are now capable of self-correction through harness engineering. This approach involves equipping agents with automated tests, feedback loops, and guardrails to identify and rectify mistakes before human review. Thoughtworks' Head of Technology for Retail, CPG, Travel & Hospitality Market, Vanitha Kumar, explains that harness engineering has two main components: ensuring accuracy in the initial execution and employing self-correction mechanisms for post-execution errors. This shift has eliminated the need for \"babysitting\" AI agents, as they can autonomously perform tasks without constant oversight. The concept of AI factories mirrors the development of Kubernetes, streamlining the setup of standardized infrastructure for model selection, workload management, and cost optimization. However, greater agent autonomy brings the added responsibility of granting agents access to more data, systems, and tools, which could potentially increase security vulnerabilities. Organizations are thus contemplating whether to delay AI adoption to mitigate potential security risks. Guardrails, which restrict tool access, enforce test environments, and require human approval for sensitive changes, could alleviate these concerns. Looking ahead, Kumar predicts that security will become a prominent topic in AI discussions within the next year. Additionally, Thoughtworks' Technology Radar, Volume 35, released on November 4, 2026, underscores the renewed importance of traditional engineering practices such as penetration testing and understanding the path to production. These practices are regaining significance due to their enhanced relevance in the context of AI.",
  "summary": "What if your coding agent could catch its own mistakes before you ever reviewed its work? A few years ago, The post AI agents are getting more complex. Developers shouldn’t have to babysit them. appeared first on The New Stack .",
  "key_points": [
    "AI agents now require less human intervention through self-correction mechanisms.",
    "Harness engineering involves automated tests, feedback loops, and guardrails for error correction.",
    "Increased agent autonomy raises security concerns, prompting discussions on AI adoption timing."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}