arXivPaperNeeds Review
Do AI Agents Know When a Task Is Simple? Toward Complexity-Aware Reasoning and Execution
E3 makes agents estimate task scope, try the minimum viable path, and expand only after verification fails. In a controlled edit benchmark, it preserved task completion while sharply reducing work.
arXiv · Jul 14, 2026
Source Summary
E3 follows Estimate, Execute, Expand: choose an initial scope, attempt the shortest reliable path, then widen it only if verification fails. On **121 deterministic edits**, it matched the strongest baseline’s **100% task success** while cutting cost 85%, tokens 91%, and inspected files 92%.
Practical Implication
Add scope estimation before retrieval-heavy coding loops, and make failed verification the trigger for reading more files or dependencies. Track redundant inspection alongside correctness so one-line changes do not automatically become repository audits.
Agent-Ready Context
E3 follows Estimate, Execute, Expand: choose an initial scope, attempt the shortest reliable path, then widen it only if verification fails. On **121 deterministic edits**, it matched the strongest baseline’s **100% task success** while cutting cost 85%, tokens 91%, and inspected files 92%. Add scope estimation before retrieval-heavy coding loops, and make failed verification the trigger for reading more files or dependencies. Track redundant inspection alongside correctness so one-line changes do not automatically become repository audits. MSE-Bench is a capability-controlled simulator, not a deployed-agent measurement. A gpt-4o case study on a real library showed the same direction at comparable task success, but its evidence is narrower and one run was limited by a provider rate limit.
Context Map
agentcoding#harness-engineering#agent-reliability#context-engineeringUncertainty
MSE-Bench is a capability-controlled simulator, not a deployed-agent measurement. A gpt-4o case study on a real library showed the same direction at comparable task success, but its evidence is narrower and one run was limited by a provider rate limit.