The AI Sandwich: Where Humans Excel in an AI World

The AI Sandwich: Where Humans Excel in an AI World

From AI & I by Dan Shipper

April 22, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 109

About this episode

Kieran Klaassen discusses a new AI-native engineering methodology that redefines human roles in AI workflows.

Most frameworks for working with AI agents assume humans should stay in the loop at every phase. That’s the wrong approach, says Cora general manager Kieran Klaassen . Kieran is the creator of Every's AI-native engineering methodology, compound engineering. His four-step framework—plan, work, review, compound—rebuilds how engineers work with agents. The insight, worked out with collaborator Trevin Chow, is about when to be in the loop and when to step away and let the model handle it. "LLMs are very good at just following steps, doing deep work, working for hours—days even now," Kieran says. "That thing is kind of solved." Kieran and Trevin describe an AI workflow as a sandwich. Agents are the workhorse filling, and humans are the bread, responsible for framing the problem at the start and reviewing the outputs at the end. Every CEO Dan Shipper talked with Kieran for AI & I about why setting the frame of a problem is still hard for agents, why simulated personas won't replace human judgment, Dan's bar for AGI—an agent worth running 24/7 with no off switch—and what Kieran's background as a classical composer taught him about performance, polish, and finding the parts of work…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Shipper

Guest: Kieran Klaassen

Topics covered

  • AI methodology
  • engineering
  • human-AI collaboration
  • workflow
  • performance

Keywords

  • AI agents
  • compound engineering
  • workflow sandwich
  • human judgment
  • AGI

Sponsors

Every

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cora, Every

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