Changelog Master Feed Agent, take the wheel (Changelog Interviews #648)
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Jul 2, 2025 
Thorsten Ball, a coding innovator and author of 'How to Build an Agent', returns to Sourcegraph to dive into the world of AI-driven coding agents. He discusses the revolutionary potential of these tools in simplifying software development and enhancing team collaboration. Thorsten explores the divide between skeptics and advocates of AI, shares insights on the evolution of coding practices, and highlights the unique aspects of Amp amidst a competitive landscape. Get ready for a fascinating conversation about the future of coding and AI!
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Agent Solves Editing Challenge Creatively
- Thorsten Ball shared how a simple agent used only file read, directory listing, and shell command tools to edit a file by cleverly echoing content back into it.
- This demonstrated the immense problem-solving ability of AI models even with limited tool access.
Agents Use Simple Iterative Loops
- Coding agents operate primarily as simple loops calling tools until a solution is found.
- This brute force iterative approach effectively mimics human problem-solving persistence at scale.
Use Tool Calling to Empower Models
- Use tool calling to enable an AI model to invoke external capabilities and shell out to systems.
- This lets the model overcome hallucinations by obtaining real system state before making decisions.