TLDR Dev · OPINIONS & ADVICE

TOKENMAXXING, PROMOMAXXING, AND MISALIGNED INCENTIVES IN TECH

read.engineerscodex.com5 min read

Summary from the TLDR Dev newsletter

Performance metrics like AI token usage or project complexity can become "perverse incentives" that encourage engineers to prioritize visible activity over actual productivity. Examples like Goodhart's Law and the Cobra Effect show that companies must carefully align incentive structures to focus on meaningful outcomes rather than easily gamed inputs.