How we make AI coding more cost efficient without sacrificing task quality
Source
Erik Kristensen
Author
Erik Kristensen
Date
Terms in this piece · Glossary
agent harness — The scaffolding around a model that turns it into a working agent — the loop, the tools it can call, and the rules for when to stop.
token — The chunk of text a model reads and writes in — roughly three-quarters of a word — and the unit AI usage is billed in.
AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.
Why it matters
Cutting tokenThe chunk of text a model reads and writes in — roughly three-quarters of a word — and the unit AI usage is billed in.Full definition → per call can raise total cost when the AI agentAn AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.Full definition → has to ask again. The four changes and the offline-then-A/B validation method transfer to anyone running an agent harnessThe scaffolding around a model that turns it into a working agent — the loop, the tools it can call, and the rules for when to stop.Full definition → at scale.
videoStop babysitting your agents... — Brandon Waselnuk, UnblockedAI Engineer
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