Agile Mentors Podcast from Mountain Goat Software

#175: When AI Makes Agile Teams Worse with Hunter Hillegas

Feb 25, 2026

Hunter Hillegas, CTO at Mountain Goat Software with 20+ years in development and team leadership, discusses how AI can harm agile teams. He covers erosion of developer judgment, risks to junior developer growth, accountability gaps when blaming AI, communication silos from private AI use, and the illusion of productivity from inflated metrics.

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INSIGHT

AI Can Inflate Productivity Metrics

AI can produce a false sense of productivity by increasing output without improving customer value.
They warn inflated velocity/points or more code can mean twice as much unused work if product focus isn't tightened.

ADVICE

Always Verify AI Output With Tests

Verify every AI-generated change with solid automated testing and human review before shipping.
Hunter emphasizes that AI output can be 'close but not right' and weak verification lets subtle bugs slip through.

INSIGHT

Don't Anthropomorphize AI Reliability

Humans tend to overtrust AI because it communicates like a person, but the model is non-deterministic and needs checking every time.
Brian compares trust to naming a car; AI success streaks don't guarantee future correctness.

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AI can make teams faster. But it can also quietly make them worse. In this episode, Brian Milner and Hunter Hillegas dig into the risks no one wants to talk about—from eroding developer judgment to weakening team communication—and what healthy teams should do about it.

Overview

AI tools are powerful. They can generate code, draft tests, and accelerate delivery in ways that felt impossible just a few years ago. But speed is not the same as effectiveness.

In this episode, Brian sits down with Mountain Goat Software CTO Hunter Hillegas to explore where AI may actually be hurting Agile teams. They discuss the risk of losing junior developer growth paths, the illusion of productivity through inflated metrics, the danger of outsourcing judgment, and how AI can quietly create communication silos inside Scrum teams.

This is not an anti-AI conversation. It is a practical one. You will hear what guardrails healthy teams should consider, why accountability still belongs to humans, and how to use AI as a tool without letting it reshape your culture in ways you did not intend.

If your team is leaning into AI, this episode will help you do it with your eyes open.

References and resources mentioned in the show:

Hunter Hillegas

Blog: AI Doesn’t Eliminate Agile Teams — It Increases the Need for Great Ones by Mike Cohn
#169: Building Practical AI for Agile Teams with Hunter Hillegas

#82: The Intersection of AI and Agile with Emilia Breton

#151: What AI Is Really Delivering (and What It’s Not) with Evan Leybourn & Christopher Morales
Mountain Goat Software

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This episode’s presenters are:

Brian Milner is a Certified Scrum Trainer®, Certified Scrum Professional®, Certified ScrumMaster®, and Certified Scrum Product Owner®, and host of the Agile Mentors Podcast training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.

Hunter Hillegas is the Chief Technology Officer at Mountain Goat Software. With over 20 years of experience in software development, product ownership, and team leadership, he leads the creation of tools like the AI Toolkit and Team Home to support effective, engaging learning experiences. Hunter lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife and their dog Enzo.