I am absolutely NONPLUSSED by Devin! Here's why!

David Shapiro
13 Mar 202408:37

TLDRThe speaker discusses their impressions of Devon AI, noting its familiarity due to their knowledge of similar projects since GPT-3. They highlight the improvements in AI models and user experience, emphasizing the consolidation of tools as the key innovation. While acknowledging Devon AI's potential economic impact, the speaker expresses a deeper interest in cognitive frameworks that can solve a variety of problems. They mention their involvement in projects like Agent Forge and the ACE framework, advocating for a repo-centric development approach to leverage the full potential of AI agents.

Takeaways

  • 👋 Introduction: The speaker shares a personal perspective on Devon AI, having seen many comments requesting their opinion.
  • 📺 Devon AI Demo: The speaker found the Devon AI demo tutorial to be cool but not groundbreaking, as they've been aware of similar developments since GPT-3.
  • 🚀 Historical Context: The speaker notes that during the GPT-3 era, creating instruct-aligned models was much harder due to smaller context windows and less advanced models.
  • 🌐 Evolving Technology: The speaker emphasizes that as context windows grow and models improve, tasks like those demonstrated by Devon AI become increasingly easier to achieve.
  • 🛠️ UX and Tool Consolidation: The interesting part for the speaker is the user experience and the consolidation of tools within Devon AI, creating a coherent workspace.
  • 🏢 People, Process, Tools: The speaker highlights the importance of people, processes, and tools in successful implementation, drawing from their startup experience.
  • 🏗️ Agent Forge Project: The speaker mentions involvement in the Agent Forge project, which aims to instantiate versatile agents, inspired by cognitive architecture.
  • 🤖 Versatility vs. Specialization: The speaker expresses more interest in cognitive frameworks that can solve all problems, rather than purpose-built agents for specific tasks.
  • 🏢 Economic Value: The speaker discusses the economic value of productivity tools like Devon AI, which could potentially automate junior developer jobs.
  • 📈 Future Predictions: The speaker predicts that we will see more commercial deployments like Devon AI and emphasizes the importance of a repo-centric development approach.
  • 🎯 GitHub's Potential: The speaker criticizes GitHub for not fully utilizing its potential with GitHub Copilot and suggests a more integrated approach with autonomous agents.

Q & A

  • What is the speaker's overall impression of Devon AI?

    -The speaker finds Devon AI cool but not surprising, as they have known about similar developments since the time of GPT-3.

  • How has the development of AI models evolved since GPT-3?

    -Since GPT-3, AI models have improved with larger context windows, better alignment, and increased intelligence, making tasks easier over time.

  • What does the speaker find interesting about Devon AI's approach?

    -The speaker finds the user experience (UX) and the consolidation of tools in Devon AI's workspace to be the interesting parts.

  • What is the speaker's perspective on the economic value of AI like Devon AI?

    -The speaker believes there is significant economic value in AI that can automate tasks, such as a junior developer's job, but their personal interest lies in cognitive frameworks that can solve all problems.

  • What is the Ace framework mentioned by the speaker?

    -The Ace framework is a cognitive framework aimed at creating a system that allows language models to handle every aspect of a project, from risk management to coding.

  • How does the speaker view the future of AI in software development?

    -The speaker envisions a future where autonomous or semi-autonomous agents collaborate on code repositories, enhancing productivity and making software engineering more efficient.

  • Why does the speaker believe GitHub Co-pilot did not meet expectations?

    -The speaker expected GitHub Co-pilot to have a more integrated and advanced system where agents could interact with repositories, but it did not reach that level of development.

  • What is the speaker's suggestion for developers and companies working with AI?

    -The speaker suggests adopting a repo-centric method of development, where agents from different providers can interact with repositories to standardize productivity.

  • What is the speaker's involvement with Agent Forge?

    -The speaker has been involved with Agent Forge, a project inspired by their work on cognitive architecture, aiming to create agents capable of doing anything.

  • How does the speaker describe the 'secret sauce' of Devon AI?

    -The 'secret sauce' of Devon AI is the creation of a coherent workspace that brings together a chat window, terminal, browser, and debugger, providing all the necessary affordances for users.

  • What is the main challenge for AI tools like Devon AI in terms of competition?

    -The main challenge is that there is no moat or significant barrier to entry, as the real power behind these tools is the models they depend on, which can be easily replicated by others once the UX is understood.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Personal Perspective on Devon AI

The speaker shares their personal take on Devon AI, noting that while they find it neat, it's not surprising given their knowledge of similar projects since GPT-3. They highlight the improvements in AI models and the importance of time, larger context windows, and better alignment in making such technologies more accessible. The user experience (UX) and tool consolidation in Devon AI are praised as interesting aspects, but the lack of a unique 'moat' or competitive advantage is noted due to reliance on models from major tech companies. The speaker contrasts this with their involvement in broader cognitive frameworks and Agent Forge, which aims to create versatile agents capable of various tasks, not just coding.

05:04

🚀 Predictions and Recommendations for AI Development

The speaker discusses their expectations for AI development, expressing some disappointment that Devon AI did not surprise them as much as others. They predict an increase in similar offerings and commend GitHub for its potential to integrate AI more deeply, such as through GitHub Copilot. The speaker advocates for a repo-centric approach to development, suggesting that agents from different providers could interact with repositories to enhance productivity. They share their experience with agent swarms and their vision for autonomous agents collaborating on GitHub repos, emphasizing the importance of APIs and a central source of truth for project management and development.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Devon AI

Devon AI is an artificial intelligence platform that the speaker discusses in the context of its capabilities and user experience. It is described as having a chat window, terminal, and browser-like interface, which suggests a multi-functional AI tool designed to assist with coding and development tasks. The speaker compares Devon AI to other AI models and discusses its potential economic impact, particularly in the field of software development.

💡GPT-3

GPT-3, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, is a type of language prediction AI developed by OpenAI. It is referenced in the context of being an earlier model compared to the more advanced AI tools being discussed. The speaker uses GPT-3 as a benchmark to illustrate the progress in AI development since its release.

💡UX (User Experience)

User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience a user has while interacting with a system or product. In the context of the video, the speaker highlights the UX of Devon AI as a key aspect that makes it interesting, suggesting that the design and ease of use of AI tools are as important as their underlying technology.

💡Cognitive Frameworks

Cognitive Frameworks are theoretical structures that aim to mimic or represent the human thought process, often used in the development of AI systems. The speaker discusses their interest in cognitive frameworks as opposed to purpose-built agents, indicating a preference for systems that can solve a wide range of problems rather than being limited to specific tasks.

💡Agent Forge

Agent Forge is a project mentioned by the speaker, which is inspired by cognitive architecture and aims to create agents capable of performing a wide range of tasks. It is used as an example of the kind of work the speaker is involved in and supports the idea of developing AI that is not limited to narrow functionalities.

💡Economic Value

Economic Value refers to the worth of a product or service in terms of its ability to generate revenue or save costs. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses the economic value of AI tools like Devon AI, particularly in terms of their potential to automate jobs typically performed by junior developers, indicating a significant shift in the economic landscape of software development.

💡GitHub

GitHub is a web-based hosting service for version control and collaboration that is used by developers to store and manage their code. The speaker discusses GitHub in the context of expecting it to lead in integrating AI tools like Devon AI, suggesting that platforms with APIs and repositories could be the future of AI-assisted software development.

💡Autonomous Agents

Autonomous Agents are software programs that can operate independently, performing tasks without direct human intervention. In the video, the speaker envisions a future where autonomous or semi-autonomous agents collaborate on GitHub repositories, indicating a shift towards more automated and efficient software development processes.

💡Repo-Centric Development

Repo-Centric Development refers to a software development approach that revolves around the use of repositories as the central hub for all development activities. The speaker advocates for this method, suggesting that AI agents should be directed towards repositories to maximize productivity and efficiency in development workflows.

💡Professional Development

Professional Development in this context refers to the ongoing process of acquiring new skills and knowledge to improve one's professional capabilities. The speaker mentions their own ADHD and inability to stick with projects long enough, which contrasts with the arrival of professional developers in the field, suggesting a need for continuous learning and adaptation in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Highlights

The speaker provides a personal perspective on Devon AI, having seen many comments requesting their take.

The speaker acknowledges the progress from GPT-3 and how the development of instruct-aligned models has evolved.

The user experience (UX) and tool consolidation in Devon AI are highlighted as interesting aspects.

The speaker discusses the importance of people, processes, and tools in creating a coherent workspace.

The lack of a moat for Devon AI is mentioned, as the real power lies in the models it relies on.

The speaker shares involvement in projects like Agent Forge, which is inspired by cognitive architecture.

The focus on cognitive frameworks and architectures that can solve all problems is emphasized.

The economic value of productivity tools like Devon AI is discussed, especially for junior developer tasks.

The speaker's interest in cognitive frameworks that allow language models to handle every aspect of a project is mentioned.

The speaker had anticipated GitHub's potential to integrate AI agents into their platform more effectively.

A repo-centric method of development is recommended for future productivity and collaboration.

The speaker expresses disappointment in GitHub's handling of AI integration with GitHub Copilot.

The potential for different providers' agents to interact with repositories is highlighted.

The speaker's ADHD is mentioned as a reason for not sticking with projects long enough to see them through.

The speaker concludes by expressing satisfaction with the commercial deployments of AI like Devon AI, but notes it falls short of expectations.

The speaker ends with a recommendation for standardizing on repo-centric development for future AI tools.