Andrew Ng Was Right 9 Months Ago — Here's What Changed (And What Didn't)

The Talk That Aged Like Wine In mid-2025, Andrew Ng gave a talk on the state of AI agents. No hype. No "AGI by Tuesday." Just a clear-eyed look at what works, what doesn't, and where the real opportunities are. Nine months later, I went back to check his predictions against reality. The scorecard is remarkable: 7 for 7. But the interesting part isn't what he got right. It's what changed around his predictions — and what that means for anyone building with AI agents today. The Scorecard 1. "Stop debating the definition of 'agent.' Focus on the autonomy spectrum." Verdict: Still right. The industry is still arguing about what counts as a "real" agent. Meanwhile, the teams shipping value have moved on. They build systems at whatever autonomy level solves the problem — from simple linear workflows to multi-step reasoning chains. The definition debate is a spectator sport. The autonomy spectrum is where the work happens. 2. "Most business value comes from simple, linear workflows — not comp