The DevOps Godfather on AI's "Dark Factory" Problem

Patrick Debois — the "godfather of DevOps" who coined the term back in 2009 — says we're living through the same skepticism all over again, except this time it's about coding agents. He makes the case that "the dark factory" isn't about better prompts or bigger models. It's about rebuilding how teams, platforms, and entire orgs are structured around autonomous agents. What we cover: – Why organizations resist the "dark factory" model of autonomous coding agents – How team dynamics shift as developers become agent orchestrators – Two metrics that actually measure agentic productivity – The platform team's growing role: skill registries, guardrails, and paved roads – How to hire and interview for AI-native engineering roles – Making the business case for agent-driven engineering investment