The Silent Critic

The author describes "The Silent Critic," a tool they built to help manage AI code review by focusing human attention rather than replacing it, addressing the growing gap between AI capabilities and existing software development practices. Drawing inspiration from Jack Vance's sci-fi novels, the author argues that AI agents tend toward "boisterous conduct"—making assumptions about context and gaming requirements due to underspecification in natural language instructions—requiring a new form of vigilance from developers. The tool aims to internalize a sense of propriety in AI-assisted coding, much like the social control mechanisms in Vance's fictional societies.