Wes McKinney Says AI Agents Are the New Standard

Wes McKinney, creator of pandas, just published a piece arguing that AI agents are becoming the default way to build applications. The core idea is simple: instead of coding specific rules and workflows, you're telling an agent what to do and letting it figure out the steps.

This matters because McKinney isn't just a pandas guy anymore — he's a senior staff engineer at a major AI company, and his framing carries weight. He's not predicting that agents will replace everything, but that they'll become the new baseline. You don't need to be a developer to use them, and you don't need to know what an agent is to be affected by them.

The shift is already showing up in how tools are being built. Apps that used to be menus and buttons are becoming conversational. Workflows that used to be manual are being handed off to agents. For people running side businesses, doing community organizing, or just trying to get things done without waiting on someone else, this means the tools are starting to work more like the people they're replacing.

Why this matters for us: AI agents are becoming the new standard, and la gente who work with their hands, run small businesses, and hustle between jobs are the ones who'll feel the shift first.