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David Heinemeier Hansson

What David Heinemeier Hansson thinks about AI agents

@dhh · 154 positions · 10 changes of mind

Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals, and creator of Omarchy.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

David Heinemeier Hansson did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what David Heinemeier Hansson has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our reading · no longer heldThe ideas in software originate with humans; agents build what people tell them to build.

    Recalls holdingI thought all the ideas would originate with the humans. They would tell their agents what to build, and off they went.

    SaidI don't think that's true anymore at all.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 11th of 41 in this recording

    Interesting

  3. Our readingThe arcane config files and error messages that kept Linux off the desktop are exactly what make it the right operating system for agents.

    Their wordsLinux conquered everything else. All the AI infrastructure that everyone runs off, it's all running on Linux. All the systems, all the servers, everything is Linux. So it was kind of a curiosity that the desktop and the personal computers we were using really hadn't been captured, but clearly it was just waiting for this moment. Linux spent the time from '91 to now waiting for agents to fully flourish as an end user operating system.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 32nd of 41 in this recording

    Linuxinfrastructure

    Interesting
  4. 1 day earlier

  5. Our readingThe current pace of AI-driven work is not sustainable, and agents gaining autonomy should eventually make work calmer, not more frantic.

    Their wordsAnd I do think some of that is positive and energizing, but I also think you can certainly go too far with it, and I also think the current pace is not sustainable.

    ↗Is Linux the perfect operating system? - Omarchy interview with DHHyoutube.com 1st of 6 in this recording

    Interesting
  6. 5 months earlier

  7. Our readingThe end state is agents that need none of our accommodations, no on-ramp, CLI or MCP; the CLI being built now is for today, not for AGI.

    Their wordsAnd that seems like the end state. The end state is that agents will not need any of our accommodations. They do not need any on-ramp.

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 10th of 20 in this recording

    AGIMCP

    Interesting

  9. Our readingAgents will eventually stop making the mistakes that require senior review, as self-driving cars did; the bet is on when, not whether.

    Their wordsNow one way it could map out is that the agents will get so good that they stop making mistakes. They become senior in their capacity to ship working code. This is what my bet would be if we look x amount of time forward because this is what just happened with cars.

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 12th of 20 in this recording

    self-driving cars

    Interesting