# Agent-built app shows coding is cheap but verification takes effort

> Original title: Cheap Code, Expensive Confidence

- Source: O'Reilly Radar
- Published: 2026-10-29T10:54:18.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/mtki9rke675a75cgf0hn0xhxd
- Original: https://www.oreilly.com/radar/cheap-code-expensive-confidence/

## Summary

Ian Hobson's essay argues that agent-generated code shortens coding time but not verification, which for his Task Viewer app meant UI tests, manual checks, and SQL queries against the data. He says claims like "the agent got me 80% of the way there" are hard to interpret, since a plausible calculation can still rest on the wrong records. He also argues that tasks delegated to an agent may cost learners the understanding they would otherwise build.