The Greenhouse and the Lens: Two Modes of Agentic AI Work

The author distinguishes between two modes of agentic AI work: "greenhouse mode," where you experiment openly without a predetermined goal to discover useful solutions, and "lens mode," where you have a clear target and concentrate effort to achieve it precisely. Rather than one mode being superior, both are valuable tools for different situations—greenhouse mode works when you're exploring possibilities, while lens mode excels when you know exactly what success looks like. The real skill lies in recognizing which mode a project requires and avoiding drift between them.