E51: Replit's VP of AI, Michele Catasta, on Artificial Developer Intelligence

In this episode, Nathan sits down with Replit’s VP of AI, Michele Catasta. Replit is building what CEO Amjad Masad calls "the perfect substrate for AGI." In this discussion, Michele and Nathan discuss Replit's state of AI development report, advantages when it comes to AI development, and the company's custom models. If you're looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/cognitive We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com . TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode Preview (00:00:57) Introduction (04:44) What is artificial developer intelligence? (15:05) Sponsors: Netsuite | Omneky (16:58) Michele's background at Google & decision to join Replit (19:16) Startups vs incumbents (24:42) Whether Replit identifies as an e/acc company (26:37) Staying apolitical on AI while being responsible (30:36) The rise of LangChain and polarized reactions (35:14) Estimates on developer productivity gains from AI assistance (2x-10x) (38:35) Democratizing software development through easy customization (44:02) AI generating disposable single-use software (51:33) Optimism about humanity's ability to handle transformative AI (55:01) The need for nuanced AI safety discussions (56:14) Replit's data advantage from user code execution (01:04:31) Replit's approach to training custom AI models (01:08:51) The value of both open source and commercial models (01:13:18) Michele’s highlights from being a Google researcher (01:15:47) World knowledge needs in AI development (01:20:37) Replit’s approach to AI safety (01:24:28) The advantage of having a commercial model (01:25:54) The costs of serving AI features to millions of users (01:28:49) Modeling cost per user with AI workloads (01:30:50) Pushing AI inference to the edge (01:32:18) Ghostwriter integrating more deeply into Replit's IDE (01:33:37) Replit as a potential "substrate for AGI" LINKS: https://replit.com/ Replit's State of AI Development Report: https://blog.replit.com/ai-on-replit X: @pirroh (Michele) @labenz (Nathan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @cogrev_podcast SPONSORS: Shopify | NetSuite | Omneky - Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries.From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitive - NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/cognitive and download your own customized KPI checklist. - Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off. MUSIC CREDIT: MusicLM