AI models are powerful, but without guidance, they wander. John Maeda's second tip from SXSW: use a tuned harness to shape how models behave, from prompting to tool calling. Tools like GitHub Copilot CLI make it a lot easier to go from “interesting” to actually useful.

GitHub Copilot SDK: https://msft.it/6052vEQuk
Cozy AI Kitchen episodes: https://aka.ms/CAIK-YTPlaylist

Microsoft Developer

A short tip from SXSW 2026 design and tech report advocating for using pre-built AI coding harnesses like GitHub Copilot CLI and Claude Code instead of building from scratch. The 'tuned harness' metaphor describes how modern agentic CLI tools wrap AI models with tool calling, context, and configuration, making them easier to control and produce higher quality results. A specific pro tip highlights the GitHub Copilot SDK for embedding a tuned harness into your own applications.

SXSW Tip #2 - Use a Tuned Harness