Will AI Snap That with Thanos and Rollins

Thanos Diacakis, Michael Rollins

Thanos and Rollins weekly discuss if and how AI will disrupt current jobs

  1. -4 J

    Taming AI Context Chaos: How Epic Scale AI Ships Faster with MCP

    00:00 Cold open: “Humans of Earth” intro 00:38 Meet the guest: Colin Masters (Epic Scale AI) 02:40 Colin’s origin story (military → construction → NYSE → dev) 04:00 The EPIC method: Explore–Plan–Implement–Check 05:40 Context isn’t a dump: vector DB + forced session search 06:20 Plans = branches (GitHub issues integration) 07:10 Memory bank: standardize decisions (deposits vs withdrawals) 08:40 Feedback to feature: free tier shipped in 3 hours 10:00 Shared vs project context; 30 MCP tools 11:10 Using AI since 2024; choose simple over complex 12:20 Explore phase prompts → define a shippable MVP 13:10 AI-first ops: branches, artifacts, and shared context 14:20 Context bloat and model limits 15:05 The Claude 4.5 rant (pain points) 16:10 Buy vs build: why consider Epic Scale 17:10 Why “last 20 commits” isn’t enough 18:00 Semantic tasks and progress tracking 19:10 Watching cross-branch changes 20:00 Agent loops—with human review 21:00 Human-in-command: no auto-approve 22:10 Quote: “Developers in control of their tools will succeed.” 23:40 Houses vs software: constraints and collaboration 29:10 Where Epic Scale shines (small teams 10) 32:00 Status without Big‑A Agile: stakeholder visibility 34:10 Failing as a learning loop 38:10 Mindset shift: embrace AI or get left behind 39:20 Where AI beats humans (YAML, cross-file reasoning) 41:10 Juniors are crushing it; Go‑to‑Market Engineer 44:00 Speed breaks sales/support; training new grads 47:00 Where to find Epic Scale + free tier note 47:40 OutroAI dev isn’t “dump more into the context window.” Colin Masters from Epic Scale AI breaks down how the EPIC method (Explore–Plan–Implement–Check), an MCP server, and a shared vector memory turn chaos into shipping velocity—especially for small, AI‑first teams.We get practical about plans-as-branches with GitHub issues, memory banks to stop re‑deciding decisions, why auto‑approve wrecks projects, and how a user comment led to a free tier in three hours. We also debate “houses vs software,” the rise of the Go‑to‑Market Engineer, and what juniors are getting right with AI.Recorded: October 14, 2025What you’ll learn:How to replace “tickets” with plans-as-branches and keep context cleanWhy vector DB + retrieval beats giant context windowsGuardrails for agent loops (human-in-command, no auto‑approve)Where AI truly outperforms humans (cross-file reasoning, YAML, refactors)Team shape for AI‑first orgs (small, sharp, 10)How to create stakeholder visibility without Big‑A Agile ceremonyGuestColin Masters — Epic Scale AI: https://epicscale.ai/Chapters See chapter markers above.Subscribe for more on AI engineering, MCP, and practical agent workflows.Hashtags: #AIEngineering #MCP #DevTools #AIFirst #VectorDB #VSCode #GitHub

    49 min
  2. Agile is Dead, the Intern Killed It

    15 SEPT.

    Agile is Dead, the Intern Killed It

    The Death of Agile and the Rise of AI in Software DevelopmentIn this episode of 'AI Snap That,' hosts Michael Rollins and Thanos discuss the provocative statement that 'Agile is dead,' particularly critiquing the rigid and ceremonial aspects of Agile with a capital 'A.' They explore how small 'a' agile principles still hold value. They delve into their personal experiences and methodologies in software development, including leveraging AI tools for coding and project management. Despite advancements, they stress the importance of traditional software engineering fundamentals. The episode also features discussions about enhancing productivity with a small engineering team, automation in code reviewing, and the balance between human oversight and AI's capabilities in software development.00:00 Introduction and Hosts00:09 Agile is Dead: The Bold Claim00:42 Defining Agile: Big A vs. Small a01:34 The Problems with Big A Agile01:49 Small a Agile: A Reasonable Approach06:12 Agile vs. Waterfall: A Historical Perspective07:14 AI Scrum Master: A Futuristic Idea08:11 The Role of Engineers in Agile14:41 Challenges of Agile Ceremonies17:11 Intern's Journey: From Fear to Freedom23:42 Reflections on Process and Productivity24:17 Challenges of Team and Architecture Changes25:03 Rewriting the Machine Learning Pipeline26:53 Empowering New Engineers27:34 Automating Code Review and Testing34:20 Implementing Standard Artifacts39:45 Ensuring System Reliability46:52 Final Thoughts and Future Plans

    49 min
  3. 11 AOÛT

    Agents All the Way Down! - What's up with AI agents?

    Navigating the Rise of Multi-Agent AI SystemsIn this episode of 'I Snap That,' hosts Michael Rollins and Thanos discuss their experiences and insights into the development and challenges of using multi-agent AI systems versus single-core LLM agents. While Thanos shares his recent travels in Greece and upcoming vacation plans, Michael dives deep into the complexities of AI coordination, the Blackboard model, and the surprising efficiency gains realized through distributing tasks among specialized AI agents. They explore the counterintuitive nature of these improvements, the role of memory and semantic understanding in AI workflows, and touch upon future concerns about QA and ensuring trust in AI outputs. The episode balances technical discussions with light-hearted banter and real-world anecdotes, creating an informative and engaging dialogue about the evolving landscape of AI technology.00:00 Welcome to I Snap That!00:30 Vacation Plans and Travel Stories04:27 Exploring AI Agents06:42 The Blackboard Model Explained11:00 Memory and Data Coordination15:08 Building and Testing Multi-Agent Systems20:02 Performance and Efficiency Insights23:04 Token Usage and Trade-offs in Computer Science24:30 Challenges with Coding Agents and Data Access25:57 Handling Semi-Structured Data and CSV Ambiguities27:20 Improving Coding Agents with MCP Servers32:12 Ensuring Trust and QA in AI Systems39:24 Learning and Implementing Lang Graph42:13 Real-World Coding Agent Experiences46:08 Concluding Thoughts and Future Topics

    47 min

À propos

Thanos and Rollins weekly discuss if and how AI will disrupt current jobs