Article · 2026-07-20 · 3 moments

Reverse-engineering is cheap now

I keep hearing anecdotes from people who used coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate devices in their homes. I think this is an interesting illustration of the impact of the reduced cost of writing code. Prior to agents, it was entirely possible to reverse-engineer home devices. The problem was the ROI - was it really worth all of that effort? More importantly, any experienced programmer knows that undocumented, unstable APIs like that may well change or break in the future. Is that in ✦ AI generated

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HOST Simon Willison

Context

Before coding agents, reverse-engineering home devices was technically possible but rarely worth it, because the effort had to be weighed against the risk that undocumented, unstable APIs could break or change, forcing frustrating future maintenance.

The author explains that historically the barrier to reverse-engineering devices wasn't feasibility but ROI: the risk of unstable, undocumented APIs made the future maintenance burden unappealing.

transcript

Simon Willison: Prior to agents, it was entirely possible to reverse-engineer home devices. The problem was the ROI - was it really worth all of that effort? More importantly, any experienced programmer knows that undocumented, unstable APIs like that may well change or break in the future. Is that initial work worth the effort if you're committing yourself to a frustrating cycle of maintenance in the future?

Claim◆

Coding agents have lowered both the effort of building a working automation and the cost of failed attempts, so the psychological burden of future maintenance or having to rewrite the code no longer discourages people from doing it.

The author argues coding agents shift the ROI calculation entirely: cheaper code means less psychological weight to maintaining or discarding a reverse-engineered automation later.

transcript

Simon Willison: Coding agents change that equation entirely. The effort to get a simple automation working has dropped, as has the cost of trying and failing to get it to work. Since the code is so cheap, the idea of having to maintain it in the future - or throw it away and start again - carries way less psychological baggage.

Anecdote◆

People are using coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate home devices, and this trend illustrates the broader impact of the falling cost of writing code.

The author notes a recurring pattern of people using coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate home devices, framing it as a window into how cheap writing code has become.

transcript

Simon Willison: I keep hearing anecdotes from people who used coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate devices in their homes. I think this is an interesting illustration of the impact of the reduced cost of writing code.

explains mechanism · 1provides context · 1

Highlight slides

The home-automation reverse-engineering trend✦ from: People are using coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate home devices, and this trend illustrates the broader impact of the falling cost of writing code.Coding agents rewrite the ROI of automation✦ from: Coding agents have lowered both the effort of building a working automation and the cost of failed attempts, so the psychological burden of future maintenance or having to rewrite the code no longer discourages people from doing it.Falling code cost as the real story✦ from: People are using coding agents to reverse-engineer and automate home devices, and this trend illustrates the broader impact of the falling cost of writing code.Psychological baggage removed✦ from: Coding agents have lowered both the effort of building a working automation and the cost of failed attempts, so the psychological burden of future maintenance or having to rewrite the code no longer discourages people from doing it.

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