Our readingWhat is a korrent?
Drawn from what Thomas Ptacek said
On the topicWhat do coding agents change about software work?
The code in an agent that actually “does stuff” with code is not, itself, AI. This should reassure you. It’s surprisingly simple systems code, wired to ground truth about programming in the same way a Makefile is.
Added to korrents 29 Aug 2026 · How quotes work · Something wrong? Tell us
Do you hold this korrent?Do you also believe this?
I hold this tooIn tension with
The programming language is now English, and it is a more beautiful one than Ruby.
Hansson says the programming language is now English and a more beautiful one than Ruby. Ptacek says the part of a coding agent that actually acts on code is not AI at all — it is simple systems code wired to ground truth, the way a Makefile is. One is naming the interface as the language; the other is pointing at the part that does the work and noting it is not language at all.
Shared subject first, then similar wording. They may agree or disagree.