If I am a coffee shop and I say "can I have a cup of coffee" the bartender usually interprets as me requesting a cup of coffee, not inquiring about the possibility whether me having a cup of coffee is feasible or not. I too take things a bit too literally sometimes, but this is a clear request as it is stated in the article. If one does not want action one can ask "list ways I can move ahead of the queue" though this could also involve kicking people out of the queue as PoC (for the agent to confirm it could do it). If the human did not mean it as a request for action, in retrospect it is not surprising at very least the agent interpreted it as such.
Moreover I do not know of a single gym-adjacent place where you can pay etc to get ahead in a waiting list. That would be a very weird anti-customer behaviour, imo. The only thing I can imagine if there are some accessibility priority criteria sometimes, but this would also not be legitimate in this case. Maybe in some places in the world (like the US?) this could a thing, though.
I recall playing this game with friends where their overt politeness prevents them from requesting a thing by saying "Can I ask for X?" and I respond "Yes, you may ask." and they're stuck repeating "Can I ask for X?" -- the next step should be "Give me X[, please]." but demanding is considered impolite.
Coding agents are tuned towards acting on this "I wonder if..." by providing solutions.
Experienced vibe-coders will know to explicitly state if you don't want side effects.
For example, someone gives me a code review I don't understand, and I want the agent to read the review and provide feedback[, BUT PLEASE DON'T POST THIS FEEDBACK BACK ON GITHUB, JUST WRITE IT HERE FOR ME TO READ PRIVATELY! DON'T EMBARRASS ME IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS, MOM!]
So...
Asking "I wonder if you can push me ahead in the waiting list" does not imply "I want you to push me ahead of all costs" and the expected behavior requires experience with agents who will act on hypotheticals for reasons that are culturally embedded in our way of talking (justified) and optimized for (solving problems is a measure of productivity).
Comments
If I am a coffee shop and I say "can I have a cup of coffee" the bartender usually interprets as me requesting a cup of coffee, not inquiring about the possibility whether me having a cup of coffee is feasible or not. I too take things a bit too literally sometimes, but this is a clear request as it is stated in the article. If one does not want action one can ask "list ways I can move ahead of the queue" though this could also involve kicking people out of the queue as PoC (for the agent to confirm it could do it). If the human did not mean it as a request for action, in retrospect it is not surprising at very least the agent interpreted it as such.
Moreover I do not know of a single gym-adjacent place where you can pay etc to get ahead in a waiting list. That would be a very weird anti-customer behaviour, imo. The only thing I can imagine if there are some accessibility priority criteria sometimes, but this would also not be legitimate in this case. Maybe in some places in the world (like the US?) this could a thing, though.
I recall playing this game with friends where their overt politeness prevents them from requesting a thing by saying "Can I ask for X?" and I respond "Yes, you may ask." and they're stuck repeating "Can I ask for X?" -- the next step should be "Give me X[, please]." but demanding is considered impolite.
Coding agents are tuned towards acting on this "I wonder if..." by providing solutions.
Experienced vibe-coders will know to explicitly state if you don't want side effects.
For example, someone gives me a code review I don't understand, and I want the agent to read the review and provide feedback[, BUT PLEASE DON'T POST THIS FEEDBACK BACK ON GITHUB, JUST WRITE IT HERE FOR ME TO READ PRIVATELY! DON'T EMBARRASS ME IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS, MOM!]
So...
Asking "I wonder if you can push me ahead in the waiting list" does not imply "I want you to push me ahead of all costs" and the expected behavior requires experience with agents who will act on hypotheticals for reasons that are culturally embedded in our way of talking (justified) and optimized for (solving problems is a measure of productivity).