Velocity Sickness: Why AI Speed Breaks Team Coordination

The talk introduces 'velocity sickness'—the stress from sudden output increases that don't translate to impact. Teams shipping 10x faster face too many PRs, conflicting directions, agent bankruptcy, and decisions being ceded to AI. The real problem is that workflows are still built for individual implementation, not for the new collaborative planning work.

The solution is to separate the 'decision layer' from the 'action layer.' Instead of living in ephemeral chat sessions, teams should work in durable docs that capture key decisions and state. This shifts the review point earlier, reduces merge conflicts, and lets humans retain ownership of critical choices.

Practically, engineers should think in two gears: planning and polish. Treat plans as portals to the software system, and share them with teammates before agents execute. The goal is to move from code velocity to idea velocity—exploring more options before committing to build.

The talk is partially a product pitch for Ref, but the core insight stands: AI amplifies individual speed, but without workflow redesign, teams suffer from output without impact. The actionable takeaway is to make decisions durable, shared, and owned by humans.