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Entrepreneurs and software engineers ('developer mindset') habitually invest time…

2026-08-05 · 15:03 UTC ·@kyle_e_walker ·2 min read

Brief

Entrepreneurs and software engineers are the primary voices in the AI agent conversation because their 'developer mindset' makes them willing to spend time upfront to build and tune agents—work most people won't do unless there's a clear, immediate need. The post argues agents are hugely capable but demand significant setup and individualized tuning, while many tasks are better served by deterministic automations. Josh Miller (tweeted 2026-08-05) adds that despite labs, YC startups, and big-tech platforms pushing agent products (and desktop apps like Codex and Cowork), mainstream consumers largely aren't adopting agents and instead use ChatGPT/Claude as search-and-edit tools; exceptions include lawyers and customer service. Miller frames the current gap as a commercial opportunity: solve why the public isn't engaged and you can capture substantial market share and revenue in 2027.

Why it matters

Entrepreneurs and software engineers ('developer mindset') habitually invest time up front to save time later, so they are more willing to build and tune AI agents—an approach many nontechnical users won't adopt without clear immediate benefit (author cites XKCD to illustrate the gap).

Key details

  • AI agents are 'extraordinarily capable' but require significant initial setup and careful tuning to an individual's needs or a specific task; many routine problems are better solved with deterministic automation rather than agents.
  • Josh Miller (tweeted 2026-08-05) argues mainstream consumers largely aren't using AI agents yet—most people treat ChatGPT/Claude like a 'glorified Google + Grammarly'—with notable exceptions in areas like law and customer service.
  • Miller says the infrastructure and platforms (and startups and big-tech agent products, plus desktop apps like Codex/Cowork) are ready, and that figuring out why the general public 'dgaf' about agents will allow companies that solve that question to capture market share and make money in 2027; he references his team's pivot from Arc to Dia as a bet on agents transforming computing.
Source evidence

Entrepreneurs and software engineers - who comprise a huge percentage of the AI conversation on X - think differently about tasks than the average person.

People with a "developer mindset" have always been willing to invest time upfront to save time in the future. This doesn't make sense to a lot of people (which XKCD lampoons here).

Agents are extraordinarily capable but it still takes a lot of work to set them up right.

And agents work best when they are carefully tuned to the needs of the individual or the specific task. Which in turn requires time investment up front. Unless there is a clear need, people aren't looking for solutions that require them to do "more work."

Not to mention that a lot of tasks don't actually need "agents", they need a well-built deterministic automation... but that's another conversation.

Josh Miller (@joshm)

Hot take… isn’t it kinda crazy that nobody is really using AI Agents? I don’t mean software engineers or AI early adopters. I mean “college friends talking about it in group chat,” the feeling you got when everyone started using Instagram or TikTok.

These frontier AI models are insane (as are the harnesses & tool calls & the like). And every large tech co has an AI agents platform, not to mention all the YC startups doing vertical agents. Yet all of your friends and family outside of tech — who spend all day staring at their iPhones and get paid to work in browser tabs — don’t really care or find themselves using any AI agents yet.

Yes ChatGPT, Claude, etc. are extremely popular… but if you look at the engagement data the vast majority of people are still using these aI chat tools like a glorified Google + Grammarly. That’s why the AGI labs are all pushing desktop apps for Codex, Cowork, etc. so hard to non-technical ppl. And yes exceptions for lawyers and customer service but even those have some asterisks and exceptions to rule.

Look I’m not saying the ChatGPT moment for AI Agents is not coming… it most definitely is! Remember we pivoted from Arc to Dia precisely because we believe computing is going to be radically reimagined around these AI primitives. No doubt. But that’s my point: it’s just so surprising it hasn’t happened yet because all of the tech you’d need is there.

Again if you stop for a second and think about it… for all the press and money and hype and models and crazy ARR numbers… this “AI Agent” moment does not feel like the other breakthrough tech moments we’ve lived through (e.g. think the shift to Stories via Snapchat & Instagram, or shift to on-demand via Uber/Airbnb/Doordash).

Which is a long way of saying: if you can figure out the answer to “why” most people don’t care about AI agents yet (and have no enduring interest in using them) — especially since the models and harnesses are here and ready — the answer to that question will allow you to capture a lot of marketshare and make a lot of money in 2027.

Theoretically, the tech is ready for AI Agents to totally transform how we work and live our lives… but alas the general public dgaf… that’s the generational puzzle to solve for the next 12 months for anyone not working on the models themselves.

— https://nitter.net/joshm/status/2084751187002458369#m