[Linkpost] “AI agents and painted facades” by leni, zef, kaivu

In 1787, Catherine the Great sailed down the Dnieper to inspect its banks. Her trusted advisor, Governor Potemkin, set out to present those war-torn lands to her in the best possible light. Legend has it[1] Potemkin set up painted facades along the riverbank, so that, from her barge, Catherine would see beautiful villages – each just a couple of inches thick.

The rise of AI agents makes the Potemkin problem commonplace. Research agents cite experiments that never took place. Coding agents often write fake tests and mock solutions as they cause catastrophes behind the scenes.

We're moving towards a world of Potemkin villages – where our understanding of reality drifts farther and farther from what is actually happening. At some point, we might stop catching our agents painting facades.

To avoid this, we need to understand AI agents and their effects on [...]

The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

August 30th, 2025

Source:

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jZeEq5sKeAMf7fCi8/ai-agents-and-painted-facades

Linkpost URL:
https://fulcrumresearch.ai/2025/08/29/ai-agents-and-facades.html

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.