Summary & Key Takeaways ​

• Coding agents have significantly reduced the effort required for reverse-engineering.
• The traditional high ROI barrier for automating undocumented APIs has been lowered.
• Developers are now more willing to attempt and discard automation projects due to reduced initial cost.
• This shift makes previously impractical home device automation projects viable.
• The article highlights how AI changes the psychological baggage associated with code maintenance and initial development.

Our Commentary ​

Simon Willison hits it out of the park again. "Reverse-engineering is cheap now" is such a potent statement. I've definitely felt that friction when considering automating some obscure device. The idea that the cost of trying and failing has dropped is huge. It's not just about writing code faster; it's about changing the entire risk-reward calculation for personal projects. This is a genuine paradigm shift for hobbyists and tinkerers.