AI Coding Agents Work Like Power Tools

Software development depends on judgement, taste and standards of finish, and coding agents change how directly a developer shapes the source code. Writing code by hand keeps the developer close to each line and local decision. Agentic coding shifts more of that attention towards specifying expected behaviour, reviewing generated code and deciding where precision matters.

Hand planes and electric planes give a craftsperson different kinds of leverage. One offers a detailed feel for the surface, and the other removes far more material in a single pass. Libraries, frameworks and packages already bring this kind of leverage to software by letting developers assemble systems from prepared parts. AI extends the same principle to custom code, giving developers parts made for the job at the speed of a power tool.

This gives the developer more time to shape architecture, test features and correct the implementation, and it allows large sections of a codebase to emerge without passing through their hands. The resulting gaps in codebase knowledge move more of the craft into system design and evaluation. Detailed familiarity with individual functions and dependencies has to be maintained deliberately.