Cognition CEO Scott Wu on acquiring Windsurf, AI replacing engineers, and the Moneyball-ification of everything

In this interview, John Collison speaks with Scott Wu, the co-founder and CEO of Cognition, about his background, the founding of Cognition, and the broader implications of AI on software engineering and the economy. Wu discusses his early involvement in math competitions, his experience working with other future founders, and his perspective on the increasing maturity and "moneyball-ification" of various fields. The conversation covers Cognition's AI coding agent, Devon, its capabilities, and its impact on software engineering productivity. They also explore the future of AI, its potential economic infrastructure, and the changing role of software engineers in an AI-driven world, including the shift towards usage-based models and the importance of trust and delegation in agent interactions. The discussion also touches on the acquisition of Windsurf and the integration of its IDE with Devon.