Don't Allow Slop

I reflected on this a long time ago. My experience was very unrelated to AI (it was way before the craze), but that lesson carries over beautifully (sadly?). At the time, when I was new to the workforce, I had a friend complaining about abusive behavior from a co-worker. As shocking as that was, my first reaction was to question if anyone ever said anything, or stood up to him in any way. Was any other co-worker chiming in to help stop this behavior? The answer to all of my questions was, disappointingly, no.

Why would he stop though? If there are no repercussions and he gets what he wants, why would he feel compelled to change? Even if a co-worker said anything, he might shrug it off and do it again next time. Then came the most important question, where was the manager/owner in all of this? I connected the dots pretty quickly and, while it sounds obvious now, I realized they created a vicious cycle.

A terrible behavior was allowed, not once, but multiple times. That had become the norm since leadership never corrected it. That became how they did work, how he was allowed to behave. I realized then that it was a leadership issue, sure the behavior was unacceptable, but it was allowed and legitimized it. That's when I promised myself that if I was in a position like this, I would not allow it.

Lowering the bar is the easy way out. Avoiding friction is a very weak way to lead a team. Today more than ever before, we need to hold the bar to the correct standard. What I'm afraid to see is the industry slowly accepting Agents PRs in the name of higher productivity. It is no surprise that things like these will continue to happen. I'm looking forward to seeing where the industry will focus to make sure AI raises the bar rather than increasing output sacrificing quality and rigor.

So please, remember that your inaction sends as strong of a message as your actions.