[_aavaa_]

The distinction here that keep getting glossed over in such comparisons is accountability.

If the engineering team fucks up somehow they can be kept accountable. An AI cannot be held accountable.

[simonw]

100% agree. A human has to be accountable for the work.

As an engineering manager I can take accountability for the output of my team even if I don't review every line. Using coding agents feels similar.

[_aavaa_]

Except that your reports is held accountable for the specific portions assigned to them.

When I delegate to the AI there’s no pressure to deliver good work. There’s no performance review, threat of firing, or performance bonuses.

All the responsibility and accountability flows upwards on the person orchestrating, but there is not hierarchy of responsibility like there is with people.

[mitchbob]

People who use AI are responsible for what it does. IBM had it right in 1979:

A computer can never be held accountable

Therefore a computer must never make a management decision

https://simonwillison.net/2025/Feb/3/a-computer-can-never-be...