Agentic AI: Dissecting the Future of AI Workflows | Amir Behbehani
Plus, the problem with software estimates, why competent workers become incompetent managers, and successful mindsets for interviewing.
Engineering teams are already seeing efficiency gains by leveraging Gen AI solutions like Copilot, but the next wave of AI workflows has the potential to 10X productivity.
This week, we’re exploring the world of Agentic AI with Amir Behbehani, Chief AI Engineer and Founder of Memra. Agentic AI can be defined as AI agents or systems that have the capacity to make decisions or take actions on their own based on the objectives they are programmed to achieve. These AI systems act autonomously by gathering information, processing it, and then choosing or executing actions without direct human intervention.
Amir shares how Memra is leading the way in developing AI agents capable of handling complex tasks, decision-making, and improving productivity across industries. He also discusses the implications of AI in reshaping how businesses operate, and how organizations can prepare for a future where AI plays a central role in both day-to-day operations and high-level strategic decisions.
Whether you're an AI enthusiast, an engineering leader, or curious about the future of automation, this episode offers a look into the possibilities and challenges of Agentic AI and what it means for the future of work.
“The work of an AI engineer is really to kind of build those systems that effectively build systems.
If you're building agentic frameworks and then deploying those agents to effectively write code, and then the code is for the purposes of building an application. Then, you're building the systems that effectively build the constituent systems that build the application.
And in that regard, it's sort of more like industrial engineering than it is necessarily software engineering.”
Episode Highlights:
1:23 Defining Agentic AI
7:02 Frameworks for thinking about Agentic AI
12:52 Unpacking AI as a black box
22:55 When to start using agents for your engineering team
26:46 Will agents replace freelancers and the gig economy?
36:20 What is the synthetic marketplace?
40:11 How Agentic AI impacts writing code
The Download
The Download is engineering leadership content we’re reading, watching, and attending that we think you might find valuable.
1. Agentic AI: The Next Big Breakthrough That's Transforming Business And Technology
If Agentic AI is a new concept to you, we recommend reading this Forbes article to gain a baseline understanding before diving into this week’s episode. Bernard Marr provides a great definition of Agentic AI and possible use cases that will help you get the context you need prior to Amir and Conor’s deep dive.
Read: Agentic AI: The Next Big Breakthrough That's Transforming Business And Technology
2. Why competent workers become incompetent managers
The Peter Principle asserts that employees rise to their level of incompetence when promoted based on technical skills rather than managerial potential. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Sunny Lee’s article offers three suggestions to help organizations address and mitigate this:
Broadening promotion criteria
Focusing on leadership development
Creating separate career tracks for technical experts and managers
Read: Why competent workers become incompetent managers
Managing Bot-Generated PRs & Reducing Team Workload by 6% (Sponsor)
13% of all pull requests are bot-created today, and they are creating a unique impact on your SDLC — LinearB’s upcoming research and workshop will expose the effects bots are having on your team’s developer experience and productivity.
Engineering orgs who create a system for managing bot-generated PRs are able to reduce their entire review load by over 6%, while also making drastic improvements in their security and compliance posture.
If you want to learn how your team can manage bot-generated PRs and get early access to LinearB’s report, register for our upcoming workshop on September 24th or 25th
3. Software estimates have never worked and never will
“Since the dawn of computing, humans have sought to estimate how long it takes to build software, and for just as long, they've consistently failed… It's the definition of delusional.” - David Heinemeier Hansson
David’s post explains that once a type of software becomes predictable enough to estimate, it turns into a product or service that can be bought rather than built, leaving developers with novel, unpredictable work.
Instead of pushing for more precise estimates, Hansson advocates for flexible approaches, like using budgets or appetites, allowing scope to adapt during development.
Read: Software estimates have never worked and never will
4. Successful mindsets for interviewing
ICYMI: last week we published an article with long time friend of the show and thoughtleader
that offers guidance on how you can approach interviews in today’s job market.If you’re between roles or looking for the next steps in your career, Jean’s insights can help you throughout the process without feeling discouraged.
Upcoming Events
September 20th | Bay Area
SheTO Summit is the only conference that focuses on women+ in engineering and focuses on topics pertaining to enhancing their leadership. This unique Summit is truly a remarkable experience and an opportunity to learn, connect with fellow women+ engineering leaders across tech.
Encourage women+ from your team to attend this unique Summit. Use code: ALLYSHIP to get 10% off
Managing Bot-Generated PRs & Reducing Team Workload by 6%
September 24th or 25th | Online
Highlights: In this 45-minute workshop, LinearB will walk you through insights about bot issued pull requests, and how you can reduce your team workload by 6%