Left of the Loop: The Trireme

Short summary

Solo developers with AI agents can ship fast but often solve the wrong problem because no one challenges their assumptions. A functional team needs three irreplaceable functions: someone framing what's worth building, someone challenging that framing, and someone representing user or business needs. The agent is a fourth seat implementing what the three produce.

• •Solo + agent creates circular validation: agent agrees with your prompt, your prompt reflects your blind spots
• •Minimum team requires three functions: problem discovery, framing challenge, user/business representation
• •Agent is the fourth seat implementing decisions, not replacing any of the three

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.