Durable Execution and the Infrastructure Powering AI Agents

The discussion centers on durable execution, a concept ensuring code runs to completion despite failures, and its increasing importance with AI agents. Samar Abbas, CEO of Temporal, explains how Temporal provides a platform for durable execution, abstracting state management for developers. He draws an analogy to a restaurant kitchen, where orders must be fulfilled despite the chaos. Abbas details Uber's early adoption of Temporal's predecessor, Cadence, to manage state across microservices, citing the Uber loyalty program as a key example. The conversation further explores Temporal's role in powering AI coding agents like OpenAI's Codex and its applicability in deep research, emphasizing the economic impact of reliable execution and the potential for a swarm of specialized agents collaborating to solve complex problems.