Vibes Don't Scale: Why "Agentic Plumbing" is the Future of Production AI

This is a submission for the Google Cloud NEXT Writing Challenge Read enough keynote recaps and the shape of them becomes familiar: model names, benchmark numbers, and a CEO quote about whatever "era" we are in. You close the tab, write a Jira ticket, and wonder if any of it was actually about your job. Today's Google Cloud NEXT '26 opening keynote had all of that. Thomas Kurian in Las Vegas. Sundar Pichai on video. Apple's logo unexpectedly behind the Google CEO's head. The big reveal of the Ge