SXSW Tip #1 - Maintain a Working Replica
Microsoft Developer shares John Maeda’s first SXSW tip for working effectively with AI agents on real-world software.
Full summary based on description
The problem: large codebases overwhelm AI agents
- Large applications can exceed a model’s context window.
- When the agent can’t “see” enough of the codebase at once, results can degrade and become less reliable.
The tip: maintain a smaller, working replica
- Create a smaller version of the app that still runs and behaves like the real system.
- Keep it small enough to fit within the model’s context window.
Why this helps
- Makes it easier to iterate quickly.
- Improves prompting because the agent has enough relevant context.
- Increases the chance of getting meaningful output from the agent.
More info: https://msft.it/6059vDjYU
Cozy AI Kitchen: https://msft.it/6050vDjYq