What Kent Beck thinks about AI and human skill

@kent-beck · 38 positions · On ppll ↗

Creator of extreme programming and test-driven development, an original signatory of the Agile Manifesto, and the author of Test-Driven Development: By Example and Tidy First?

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Only Kent Beck on AI and human skill. See everyone on AI and human skill

2 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Kent Beck has said — not written or endorsed by them.

2 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

1. 1 Jul 2026

   Our readingAI has wiped the senior engineer's playbook clean, and writing a playbook is a completely different skill from applying one.

   Their wordsNobody knows now. That playbook has been wiped clean and people whose identity is I know the playbook are now terrified. Who who am I? Now, it turns out that the skill of writing a playbook is completely different than the skill of applying a playbook.

   ↗How Kent Beck shapes the software engineering industryyoutube.com 26th of 28 in this recording

2. 3 months earlier

3. 7 Apr 2026

   Our readingThe satisfaction of getting one function exactly right no longer makes a difference, and an engineer has to let go of it and enjoy understanding the domain instead.

   Their wordsSo I think for me I take a kind of uh OCD enjoyment in the in the craft. And I need to let go of that. Because that that satisfaction of getting this one function just right just doesn't make a difference anymore.

   ↗Martin Fowler & Kent Beck: Frameworks for reinventing software, again and againyoutube.com 20th of 20 in this recording