The binary vs nonbinary distinction is right, but the missing layer is governance. Most US apps aren’t designed to be “operated” by machine agents. The whole software stack assumes a human in the loop.
China is testing the opposite: OS-level frameworks where agents are first-class citizens. If the environment becomes machine-legible by default, the binary/nonbinary boundary shifts dramatically.
The agent revolution might not come from better agents but from re-architecting the environment to meet them halfway.
Hey, great read as always. You really hit the nail on the head with the gap between benchmark performance and real-world agentic adoption. I'm curious if you think the 'mediocre performance' of agents like Comet is more about foundational models limitations on complex, unstructured tasks, or if it's an integration/user experience challenge that's harder to solve?
Yes figuring out which "last mile" problems to solve and which to ignore is the challenge ahead.
The binary vs nonbinary distinction is right, but the missing layer is governance. Most US apps aren’t designed to be “operated” by machine agents. The whole software stack assumes a human in the loop.
China is testing the opposite: OS-level frameworks where agents are first-class citizens. If the environment becomes machine-legible by default, the binary/nonbinary boundary shifts dramatically.
The agent revolution might not come from better agents but from re-architecting the environment to meet them halfway.
I’ve heard a Hangzhou-based tech reviewer friend say some amazing things about the Doubao phone, so I’m really curious about it...
And this is such a comprehensive article, with so much clarity. Thank you for the piece, Kyle.
Hey, great read as always. You really hit the nail on the head with the gap between benchmark performance and real-world agentic adoption. I'm curious if you think the 'mediocre performance' of agents like Comet is more about foundational models limitations on complex, unstructured tasks, or if it's an integration/user experience challenge that's harder to solve?