Proactive Agents – Kath Korevec, Google Labs

Kath Korevec from Google Labs discusses the concept of proactive AI agents in software development, particularly within the context of their project, JOOLS. She highlights the limitations of reactive AI tools and advocates for proactive systems that anticipate developers' needs, understand context, and automate mundane tasks. Kath outlines four essential ingredients for proactive systems: observation, personalization, timeliness, and seamless integration into existing workflows. She illustrates the levels of proactivity in JOOLS, from detecting and fixing common code issues to understanding project context and user impact, emphasizing the importance of human oversight and collaboration with AI agents to enhance software development.