Synthesis Engineering·Synthesis Coding·Synthesis Writing·Synthesis Project Management

“Not found” is not “does not exist”

An AI agent's 'not found' is not 'does not exist.' Five rules for proving absence with bounded reads, positive controls, and scoped negative claims.

August 23, 2026·7 min read

The AI agent that deleted 474 of my files was right. I checked anyway.

An AI agent deleted 474 files and its report was accurate. Verifying an agent's summary, not just its work, is the discipline that catches the divergence.

August 8, 2026·4 min read

A Warning That Doesn't Block Is a Bug

A pre-commit guard printed its own failure and passed the commit anyway. The fix for the class: fail closed, carry a doctor, spend false alarms like currency.

August 5, 2026·8 min read

I told a sub-agent to check before committing. Minutes later, I didn't.

Multi-agent AI coding creates failures solo sessions never see: a shared git index, one-shot briefs, report chains. Three incidents and the checks they taught.

July 28, 2026·6 min read

Your coding agent should watch its own work run

Your coding agent should watch its own work run: browser automation like Playwright turns 'it should work' into 'I watched it work' with evidence attached.

June 27, 2026·7 min read