AI Replacing Humans: The Reality of Agentic AI

Today, I'm going to talk about the recent topic that has been talked about a lot in the job world. Agentic AI. What is it? And why I don't think it's going to replace human anytime soon. Many have discussed this topic, but I’ll offer a real-world, practical take.

The Pricing

Current AI pricing models are token-based. For example, in OpenAI’s model, four characters equal one token. The more complex your prompt, the more it costs, with no guarantee that the AI will complete the task correctly. This means wasted money when the output isn’t useful.

The Productivity

AI agents aren’t as fast as you might think. You can’t just assign a task and expect it to be completed instantly. Processing is slow, and results are often inaccurate. Reports show that when agentic AI was asked to fix a minor text error, it took hours and still failed. In another case, a self-funded startup relied on agentic AI, but due to the founder’s lack of technical expertise, the project ended up with over 30 barely functional Python files.

The Real-World Agentic AI Everyone Talks About - Without the Hype

One of the most well-known agentic AI software engineers, Devin, has a buy-in cost of approximately 15,000 Thai Baht and comes with limited token usage. After the initial free tokens are used, additional tokens must be purchased. Despite being one of the most advanced agentic software engineers currently available, Devin is shockingly slow, turning a simple 3-5 minute task into an hour-long process. A simple configuration change can generate multiple unrelated files. While AI is bound to improve, at this rate, it won’t be replacing humans anytime soon.

An hour clip of Devin in action by ex-Netflix software engineer ThePrimeAgen

The bottom line

In today’s global economy, where remote work is widely available, hiring a human expert is often more cost-effective than using agentic AI—especially in regions with lower living costs. Humans offer more than just task completion; they provide insights, feedback, accountability, and adaptability. AI lacks these qualities, making it a less reliable alternative.

Conclusion

While agentic AI is evolving, it remains costly, slow, and unreliable compared to human expertise. For now, hiring skilled professionals remains the smarter choice, especially for tasks demanding creativity, accountability, and critical thinking.