I Can't Believe This Actually Works

Ben Davis discusses his evolving perspective on AI's role in software engineering, transitioning from skepticism to embracing its potential. Initially hesitant, he now believes AI fundamentally changes how code is written and systems are built. Davis shares his experience of using AI agents to rapidly prototype and deploy complex applications like Better Context, emphasizing that while AI handles code generation, the engineer's role shifts to system design and orchestration. He advocates for statically typed languages to minimize errors and highlights the importance of feedback loops in AI-driven development. Davis also evaluates different inference options, noting OpenAI's models as surprisingly effective for long-running tasks.