I think software engineering has been in a crisis since at least when Facebook facilitated a genocide and there wasn’t any meaningful change to the formalized ethical practices of the industry as a whole
Software engineering has been in a crisis since forever, LLMs are going to push this even further, I wonder when will we reach a breaking point
www.ihatethefuture.com/2026/09/the-...
www.ihatethefuture.com/2026/09/the-...
the normalization of inexplicable failures
In a recent episode of President Curtis , the President struggles with opening a door on two separate occasions. These doors don't work beca...
www.ihatethefuture.com
September 27, 2026 at 9:10 PM
I think software engineering has been in a crisis since at least when Facebook facilitated a genocide and there wasn’t any meaningful change to the formalized ethical practices of the industry as a whole
All about Fascist population engineering and remigration: open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/...
Fascist Population Engineering: Yes to White Christian Births, No to Immigrants and LGBTQ Familes
From Mussolini to Meloni and Orban, state practices and rhetoric recur
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 4:47 PM
All about Fascist population engineering and remigration: open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/...
"10 Google engineering practices your team can adopt"
Free to read: addyo.substack.com/p/applied-so...
My new post breaks down our software engineering practices into actionable steps you can implement in your own team. From smaller teams to larger orgs, there are key takeaways here for everyone.
Free to read: addyo.substack.com/p/applied-so...
My new post breaks down our software engineering practices into actionable steps you can implement in your own team. From smaller teams to larger orgs, there are key takeaways here for everyone.
Applied "Software Engineering at Google"
Practices worth adopting for other organizations
addyo.substack.com
March 6, 2025 at 6:44 PM
"10 Google engineering practices your team can adopt"
Free to read: addyo.substack.com/p/applied-so...
My new post breaks down our software engineering practices into actionable steps you can implement in your own team. From smaller teams to larger orgs, there are key takeaways here for everyone.
Free to read: addyo.substack.com/p/applied-so...
My new post breaks down our software engineering practices into actionable steps you can implement in your own team. From smaller teams to larger orgs, there are key takeaways here for everyone.
I've published the first two chapters of a new guide to Agentic Engineering Patterns - coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of coding agents like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/23/...
Writing about Agentic Engineering Patterns
I’ve started a new project to collect and document Agentic Engineering Patterns—coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of this new era of coding agent development …
simonwillison.net
February 23, 2026 at 5:45 PM
I've published the first two chapters of a new guide to Agentic Engineering Patterns - coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of coding agents like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/23/...
One striking thing from this (excellent) report on a DOGE employee's use of AI is that everything about it is antithetical to sound software engineering practices—an engineer hurriedly deploying an unfamiliar tool to meet an impossible deadline for a problem domain in which he has no expertise.
1/ Really recommend reading this from @propublica.org, one of the more detailed looks at how DOGE has attempted to use AI to go after government contracts. And below, I recommend further reading.
New: A DOGE staffer developed an AI tool to review Veterans Affairs contracts.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
But there was a slight hitch.
It hallucinated the size of those deals.
For example, it concluded that more than a thousand contracts were each worth $34M, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.
June 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
One striking thing from this (excellent) report on a DOGE employee's use of AI is that everything about it is antithetical to sound software engineering practices—an engineer hurriedly deploying an unfamiliar tool to meet an impossible deadline for a problem domain in which he has no expertise.
not even software works like software
otherwise all those software engineering practices would produce good software, which they demonstrably do not
otherwise all those software engineering practices would produce good software, which they demonstrably do not
April 10, 2026 at 4:15 PM
not even software works like software
otherwise all those software engineering practices would produce good software, which they demonstrably do not
otherwise all those software engineering practices would produce good software, which they demonstrably do not
Private equity turns to financial engineering to lure insurance billions.
Using collateralised fund obligations (CFOs), slicing and dicing debts, loans, to create dodgy instruments.
Back to the practices that brought the 2008 crash.
Who will bail them out this time?
archive.ph/vrBQn
Using collateralised fund obligations (CFOs), slicing and dicing debts, loans, to create dodgy instruments.
Back to the practices that brought the 2008 crash.
Who will bail them out this time?
archive.ph/vrBQn
Private equity turns to financial engineering to lure insurance billions
Structured financing helps fuel growth of secondaries funds by making investments more attractive to risk-averse investors
www.ft.com
September 19, 2026 at 6:56 AM
Private equity turns to financial engineering to lure insurance billions.
Using collateralised fund obligations (CFOs), slicing and dicing debts, loans, to create dodgy instruments.
Back to the practices that brought the 2008 crash.
Who will bail them out this time?
archive.ph/vrBQn
Using collateralised fund obligations (CFOs), slicing and dicing debts, loans, to create dodgy instruments.
Back to the practices that brought the 2008 crash.
Who will bail them out this time?
archive.ph/vrBQn
I do want to make sure we're being clear about this:
The Bluesky team maintains the same review, red-teaming, and QA processes that we always have. AI coding tools have been proving useful, but haven't changed the fundamental practices of good engineering. Human review and direction remain key.
The Bluesky team maintains the same review, red-teaming, and QA processes that we always have. AI coding tools have been proving useful, but haven't changed the fundamental practices of good engineering. Human review and direction remain key.
March 5, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I do want to make sure we're being clear about this:
The Bluesky team maintains the same review, red-teaming, and QA processes that we always have. AI coding tools have been proving useful, but haven't changed the fundamental practices of good engineering. Human review and direction remain key.
The Bluesky team maintains the same review, red-teaming, and QA processes that we always have. AI coding tools have been proving useful, but haven't changed the fundamental practices of good engineering. Human review and direction remain key.
Yep
To be fair that describes a bunch of engineering practices as well
To be fair that describes a bunch of engineering practices as well
Medicine is a scientized process but it's generally not scientific—its roots go back to a bunch of ad-hoc heuristics and superstitious beliefs, and attempts to fix that via evidence based medicine don't necessarily work (TLDR: human biology is unreasonably complicated).
January 29, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Yep
To be fair that describes a bunch of engineering practices as well
To be fair that describes a bunch of engineering practices as well
every time one of these stories drops, I'm like, sounds like OpenAI is a shitty software company with shitty engineering practices
September 8, 2026 at 3:17 AM
every time one of these stories drops, I'm like, sounds like OpenAI is a shitty software company with shitty engineering practices
Agroforestry and contour ploughing aren't just "traditional practices"—they are highly sophisticated, climate-smart engineering tools.
August 10, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Agroforestry and contour ploughing aren't just "traditional practices"—they are highly sophisticated, climate-smart engineering tools.
As an infra guy, I’m genuinely impressed with Bluesky’s ability to scale so rapidly. It speaks to the resiliency of the underlying design (and some good backend engineering practices)
(Edited 5:33 PM)
(Edited 5:33 PM)
November 19, 2024 at 11:33 PM
As an infra guy, I’m genuinely impressed with Bluesky’s ability to scale so rapidly. It speaks to the resiliency of the underlying design (and some good backend engineering practices)
(Edited 5:33 PM)
(Edited 5:33 PM)
traffic "engineering" is not a real engineering practice rooted in safety and bdst practices.
it is designed for carbrain psychos and needs to be stopped
it is designed for carbrain psychos and needs to be stopped
November 24, 2024 at 11:47 PM
traffic "engineering" is not a real engineering practice rooted in safety and bdst practices.
it is designed for carbrain psychos and needs to be stopped
it is designed for carbrain psychos and needs to be stopped
PLATFORM ENGINEERING IS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVOPS PRACTICES AND PRINCIPLES, IT ISN'T A COMPETITION AND IF YOU THINK IT IS I QUESTION HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT DEVOPS IS
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
October 16, 2025 at 9:29 AM
PLATFORM ENGINEERING IS AN IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVOPS PRACTICES AND PRINCIPLES, IT ISN'T A COMPETITION AND IF YOU THINK IT IS I QUESTION HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT DEVOPS IS
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Hospital visit concluded with comparing performances of two different paper aircrafts. Much laughter had.
(Not cancelling out the ongoing emergency but it's important to remember happiness and also proper engineering practices)
(Not cancelling out the ongoing emergency but it's important to remember happiness and also proper engineering practices)
December 28, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Hospital visit concluded with comparing performances of two different paper aircrafts. Much laughter had.
(Not cancelling out the ongoing emergency but it's important to remember happiness and also proper engineering practices)
(Not cancelling out the ongoing emergency but it's important to remember happiness and also proper engineering practices)
doing a new medication called xdemvy and it's nice to see pharma companies using software engineering practices and using uuids for identifiers
May 25, 2024 at 8:39 PM
doing a new medication called xdemvy and it's nice to see pharma companies using software engineering practices and using uuids for identifiers
forget law — if engineers were to try and apply software engineering practices to, like, a bridge, they would be shot
April 10, 2026 at 4:16 PM
forget law — if engineers were to try and apply software engineering practices to, like, a bridge, they would be shot
One where they need to understand why engineering standards and practices are the way are.
Am I missing something here?
In what universe would an engineering student ever study history?!
Do many history students study engineering?!
I *enjoyed* history at school, and I was *good* at it. But no way would I ever have studied it at university.
In what universe would an engineering student ever study history?!
Do many history students study engineering?!
I *enjoyed* history at school, and I was *good* at it. But no way would I ever have studied it at university.
September 27, 2026 at 3:41 PM
One where they need to understand why engineering standards and practices are the way are.
I've published the first two chapters of a new guide to Agentic Engineering Patterns - coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of coding agents like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/23/agentic-engineering-patterns/
Writing about Agentic Engineering Patterns
I’ve started a new project to collect and document Agentic Engineering Patterns—coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of this new era of coding agent development …
simonwillison.net
February 23, 2026 at 5:46 PM
I've published the first two chapters of a new guide to Agentic Engineering Patterns - coding practices and patterns to help get the best results out of coding agents like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/23/agentic-engineering-patterns/
The more I use GenAI coding tools, the more I am convinced keeping to "traditional" software engineering practices is what works most productive here. As in 10x more productive. E.g.
- Small changes
- Test that the change works before moving on
- (unit) tests wherever you can
- Small changes
- Test that the change works before moving on
- (unit) tests wherever you can
January 24, 2025 at 7:26 PM
The more I use GenAI coding tools, the more I am convinced keeping to "traditional" software engineering practices is what works most productive here. As in 10x more productive. E.g.
- Small changes
- Test that the change works before moving on
- (unit) tests wherever you can
- Small changes
- Test that the change works before moving on
- (unit) tests wherever you can
another point for the "LLMs just make existing best engineering practices more important"
if you're a professional programmer, and you have 'ops folks', they do not and have never actually trusted you, and you can treat your models like they treat you
I mean it's kinda impossible to use models to write code unless you trust them
July 14, 2026 at 1:29 PM
another point for the "LLMs just make existing best engineering practices more important"
Decades of software engineering practices out the window.
These are the products people have to use to make sure that they don't get dinged in their performance review for "not using AI."
These are the products teachers have to use in schools so that "students aren't left behind."
These are the products people have to use to make sure that they don't get dinged in their performance review for "not using AI."
These are the products teachers have to use in schools so that "students aren't left behind."
April 2, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Decades of software engineering practices out the window.
These are the products people have to use to make sure that they don't get dinged in their performance review for "not using AI."
These are the products teachers have to use in schools so that "students aren't left behind."
These are the products people have to use to make sure that they don't get dinged in their performance review for "not using AI."
These are the products teachers have to use in schools so that "students aren't left behind."
They got fucking DDOSed. Vibecoding had nothing to do with it--none of their software engineering practices did.
April 17, 2026 at 1:21 PM
They got fucking DDOSed. Vibecoding had nothing to do with it--none of their software engineering practices did.
Free eBook: Machine Learning Systems by Vijay Janapa Reddi
Principles and Practices of Engineering Artificially Intelligent Systems
mlsysbook.ai
Principles and Practices of Engineering Artificially Intelligent Systems
mlsysbook.ai
November 21, 2024 at 3:05 AM
Free eBook: Machine Learning Systems by Vijay Janapa Reddi
Principles and Practices of Engineering Artificially Intelligent Systems
mlsysbook.ai
Principles and Practices of Engineering Artificially Intelligent Systems
mlsysbook.ai
Cities aren't keeping lower speed limits in place to punish people. Cities are mostly keeping high speed limits in place because of fidelity to antediluvian traffic engineering practices that are very friendly to drivers.
December 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Cities aren't keeping lower speed limits in place to punish people. Cities are mostly keeping high speed limits in place because of fidelity to antediluvian traffic engineering practices that are very friendly to drivers.