---
title: "Theo Browne: Please stop using stupid models"
description: "Theo Browne argues that model reliability matters more as agent work gets wider and longer."
group: source
speaker: "Theo Browne"
date: 2026-09-18
url: https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs
sources:
  - https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs
---

# Theo Browne: Please stop using stupid models

Theo argues that a model's ordinary performance matters more than its best result when an agent runs for a long time. Short tasks hide differences between models; wider tasks create more chances for failure. [04:19](https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs?t=259) [07:24](https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs?t=444) [17:07](https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs?t=1027)

He urges teams to learn from long runs and change their prompts and codebases when runs fail. [12:13](https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs?t=733) [12:53](https://youtu.be/iBrAWpjXNxs?t=773)