AI for Research Efficiency, episode 8: Many agents at once
Narration: an AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs).

[0:00] Four jobs, two ways
One agent, four small jobs, one after another: a list, a table, a chart and a check. 2 minutes 24 seconds.
Four agents, the same four jobs, at the same time: 35 seconds.
AI for Research Efficiency. Episode 8: Many agents at once.
Last time: tokens, and the one allowance every agent draws on.
In this episode: run several agents at once, safely, and ask for parallel work in words every tool understands.

[0:45] 1. Two ways to scale
One: two ways to scale.
Open more terminals, and start one agent in each, with its own task.
Or ask one agent to split the work and run helpers in parallel. In episode 3, one agent ran 17 of them: 8 readers at once, then 8 checkers, then a writer.

[1:09] 2. Tabs and panes
Two: tabs and panes.
In Windows Terminal, Ctrl+Shift+T opens a new tab, and Alt+Shift+D splits the window into a second pane.
Alt and the arrow keys move between panes; with Shift, the arrows resize them. Ctrl+Shift+W closes one.
A new tab or pane starts in your home folder, not the one you were in. So go to your project folder again, then start the agent.
On a Mac, Command+T opens a new tab; or put two Terminal windows side by side.

[1:48] 3. The one rule
Three: the one rule.
Two agents must never edit the same file. Let them read the same files, and give each one its own file to write.
That's how these four worked: one folder, four agents, four new files, and nothing overwritten.
If they must change the same files, every vendor's answer is a worktree: a second working copy of the project, on its own branch.
Claude Code starts one with -w, Codex with --worktree, and Antigravity can give its helpers their own. Each needs a repository, like the one from episode 5.

[2:31] 4. Ask one agent to fan out
Four: ask one agent to fan out.
No special words are needed. Say how to split the work, whether to wait, and what to bring back.
For example: split this into independent parts, and run one subagent per part in parallel. Each writes only its own file. Wait for all of them, then combine the results, and list anything that failed.
Claude Code started three helpers, one per paper, and combined their findings when all three were back. Codex and Antigravity did the same with their own.

[3:09] 5. Each tool's words
Five: each tool's own words, because the same word can mean different things.
In Claude Code, ultracode starts a workflow of many subagents, while ultrathink only means deeper reasoning, on one turn.
In Codex, Ultra is the highest reasoning effort, and it splits the work across subagents.
Antigravity calls its versions teamwork and boost.
So name the tool along with the word. The full list, with each term's nearest match, is on the companion page.

[3:48] 6. How far it scales
Six: how far it scales.
Every agent draws on the same allowance, from episode 7.
And there are built-in ceilings: Claude Code runs up to 20 subagents at once.
And every result still needs checking. Run only as many as you can check.

[4:09] Try it
Pause here, and try it: two panes, two tasks, each writing its own file.

[4:19] Review and next
So: split the work, give each agent its own file, and check what comes back.
Next: your data, your keys, your campus.