Local-machine vs. cloud-VM: the full comparison for AI-assisted development

There is a concrete architectural difference between working locally and working in the cloud when you're using AI coding agents. On a local machine you can only run 1–2 parallel agents, the environment is 'dirty' (accumulated setup state), branching collisions are a constant risk, you're desk-bound, and your effective output stays at roughly 1x. On a cloud VM setup — the model Devin uses — you can run 5–10 parallel agents simultaneously, each spun up on a fresh one-click VM that is clean by design, with no setup tax and no queuing between agents. The expert reports being able to work roughly 50% of the time from a phone because the heavy lifting is happening remotely. The claimed output difference is approximately 50x. The key insight is that 'fresh VM means no setup tax' and 'parallel agents never queue' — two properties a local machine fundamentally cannot provide.