I told the AI to escalate its own privileges. It refused.
Mid-task, my agent hit a permission it didn't have. I told it to grant itself the capability. It couldn't — and I've come round to thinking that's exactly right. Part 4 of a series.
// senior director at oracle cloud, still close to the code
Notes on engineering, leadership, and lifelong learning.
I'm Jeff Salleh — a technology leader at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure driving the Java Management Service, and I still stay close to the code. I write about building software, leading teams, and staying curious — and I care deeply about giving back to the community and building up the next generation of technologists. However far along you are, you're welcome here.
Featured · 2026.09.08
I told the AI to escalate its own privileges. It refused.
Mid-task, my agent hit a permission it didn't have. I told it to grant itself the capability. It couldn't — and I've come round to thinking that's exactly right. Part 4 of a series.
Writing
23 postsThe day it destroyed production
I gave my AI agent auto-approve on infrastructure changes. It saved me hours — right up until it destroyed my production host. The lesson isn't 'stop automating.' It's about where you put the tripwires. Part 3 of a series.
Give it eyes
My AI agent kept fixing a bug that wasn't fixed. It wasn't a reasoning problem — it was looking at the wrong thing. Part 2 of a series on handing an agent the whole stack.
I handed an AI agent my whole stack
Two seasons ago I shut down a fantasy football app with 500+ users because the operational toil wasn't worth it. Last week I rebuilt it on the Oracle stack — and let an AI agent run everything. Part 1 of a series.
On Netscape, timing, and the work you don't see
CultRepo just released The Java Story. I'm not in it, but the timeline is my whole working life. A few thoughts on timing, stewardship, and the invisible work that keeps a platform alive.
A new home, and a small experiment
Why I moved off Wix, what I built instead, and the AI experiment tucked inside the whole thing.
Twenty-five years since Frankston
I went back to the Monash campus where I graduated in 2001. A quarter century later, standing outside the same office, I couldn't have imagined the road that led here.
The Algorithmic Ink: Where Singapore Muslim Leaders and Techies Design the Blueprint for Values-Driven AI
Yesterday marked a pivotal moment in Singapore's Muslim community as we hosted Dr. Waleed Kadous for two transformative AI sessions that
Ground Control to Major Tom
Last week was one of those weeks that couldn’t get any busier—QBR, key meetings, and then a four-day "training" that was anything but
Sikit-Sikit Lama-Lama Jadi Bukit
The title of this post draws from the phrase, "By being bit by bit, it will turn into a hill." This idiom sorts to remind us that even
Down the memory lane with Former Prime Minister Lee: Terima Kasih Tuan.
Friday nights are usually reserved for family, but this week was an exception. I was honored to attend a tribute dinner for Senior
It only just begun - The Tech Professional Network Journey
I am deeply touched by the congratulatory messages from my LinkedIn network following my recent appointment. The kind words are
Career Movements and Trust
Trust #1 It's been a few months since I took on a new role at Oracle, and the whirlwind of responsibilities has kept me from sharing my
Reflecting on My Whys 23
I was asked to share what motivates me to do what I am doing - essentially my 'Whys', to a group of volunteers and student leaders at
Satisfying the ‘-illities’ of an Enterprise Cloud Service.
‘Feature is DONE !’ A regular statement that is typically shared by an overjoyed engineer who is declaring the completion of a feature
VoidDeck Football Covered In the Local News
My daughter was cutting my hair when a message came through from my friend saying, 'Hey, our interview with the journalism undergraduates
License To Print
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (Toy) ~ James Brown So I did - Got myself what the online community suggested possibly the best value for
Speaking at Mendaki Club's Re:Work initiative
I was invited (accepted without hesitation) to be part of a panel of speakers at MClub's Re:Work Initiative (Career Conversation) for
Still having my Java Cuppa since '99
While having my cuppa in the rainy cooling Singapore, I reflected on my journey or relationship with Java (not the brew) but the
Oracle Open World Singapore 2019
Oracle events do not get any bigger than Oracle Open World a.k.a OOW. After a long absence in Asia, it finally made its appearance at
Leveraging EDM for the new launch of Masjid Darul Ghufran
Working with Darul Ghufran over the last 3 weeks on how we can keep the community informed towards the official launch of the new mosque
Toiling is HARD WORK !!
One of the "compulsory" read for anyone who want to start their DevOps journey is "Site Reliability Engineering". There are many nuggets
Another year older, time for reflection
I planned to write on my birthday date or perhaps a couple of days after but I am very late. There were too many things happening and it