AI and the Future of Software Development - One Billion Developers

Dive into a 43-minute conference talk featuring Mario Rodriguez, SVP of Product at GitHub, as he explores the transformative impact of AI on software development. Learn how Copilot and other AI advancements are poised to enable a billion people to become developers, reshaping the definition of software creation. Discover insights on the future of app development, the importance of creativity in coding, and the challenges of building with non-deterministic AI. Gain valuable tips on prompt engineering, offline evaluation, and measuring developer productivity. Explore Mario's personal journey from Cuba to founding a charter school in North Carolina, and understand his vision for the skills today's children need to thrive in an AI-driven world.

Intro
1 Billion Developers: Why AI will let so many people participate, and what this means for the types of apps — and the future — we will build
Ephemeral apps and how they will unleash creativity and learning
About the time Dan programmed his TI-83 calculator to play blackjack, and where he got stuck
Why “natural language is going to take center stage” as software development evolves
Why building with Generative AI is completely different and how you need to plan for non-determinism
Psychology matters more: Humans don’t always respond well to suggestions from Copilot and other bots
Why offline evaluation is so important when building with AI: test your prompts over and over and over again
Building Copilot: balancing speedy suggestions with longer code suggestions that actually add more value
Mario on why “product sense” matters so much
Tips for prompting Copilot effectively
Building Copilot: the early days, figuring out the UX, and how critical it was to latency
How GitHub measures developer happiness: keeping devs in flow
How Mario developed his love for teaching and engineering. On growing up in Cuba, helping his mother, a teacher, and nearly following his father into electrical engineering
Why Mario founded a school in rural North Carolina
Systems thinking, and other skills that Mario hopes today’s kids will learn
Outro