Forget humans “in” the loop. Harness engineering puts humans “on” the loop.

The New Stack · 2 months ago · 37 ● 3 sources

Thoughtworks engineer Kief Morris argues that AI-driven software development requires humans to remain actively involved in defining quality standards and implementing safeguards through CI/CD pipelines, rather than being removed from the loop entirely. Morris emphasizes applying established continuous delivery practices like DORA metrics, architectural decision records, and leading indicators to AI-generated code, which has existed for over 16 years. Organizations must implement what Morris calls "harness engineering"—humans guiding AI agents through quality gates and iterative feedback loops—to prevent cognitive debt and ensure production-ready software that lasts beyond the next feature.