Our survey on AI in software development showed that most respondents used AI coding tools both at work and outside of work. 👀
See the full report. ⬇️https://t.co/ie4KPREHer pic.twitter.com/UQlvLtSdav
— GitHub (@github) August 22, 2024
Andrej Karpathy, the former head of Tesla’s Autopilot program and an ex-OpenAI researcher, has expressed his enthusiasm for AI-assisted programming. In a recent post, Karpathy shared his experience using VS Code Cursor with Sonnet 3.5, stating that it is now a “net win” compared to GitHub Copilot. Karpathy explained that his current programming tasks mainly involve writing in English, reviewing and editing generated code, and engaging in what he calls “half-coding.” This process includes writing the initial part of the code, commenting it for a large language model (LLM) to follow, and then iterating to refine the output.
A post on the rationale behind our investment in @cursor_ai. And some broader thoughts on the AI coding space.
It's always special to back a company for which you're a delighted and long time user 🙂https://t.co/18cZFWKk9M
— martin_casado (@martin_casado) August 22, 2024
“I basically can’t imagine going back to ‘unassisted’ coding at this point, which was the only possibility just ~3 years ago,” Karpathy said, highlighting the rapid changes in the programming landscape. Karpathy’s comments reflect a growing trend in the tech industry, where AI is increasingly being used to automate coding tasks. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman recently predicted that in the near future, most developers may not be coding in the traditional sense.
Amazon’s AI assistant has already significantly reduced software upgrade times, saving thousands of work hours. The praise for Cursor AI extends beyond Karpathy.
Karpathy lauds Cursor AI’s efficiency
So people *really* want to learn Cursor.
Already 1,056 people learning in my Cursor course.
And my “Building a pro full-stack app with AI” course launches this week to pair with it.
Come learn to build with AI.
25% launch discount – link below. pic.twitter.com/WLuNsk5Aty
— Mckay Wrigley (@mckaywrigley) August 24, 2024
Jordan Singer from Figma echoed the sentiment, stating, “All this talk of Claude + Cursor and becoming capable of building anything you put your mind to (no matter your skill set) is warranted. If this is the future, I want to live in it.”
However, not everyone is ready to fully embrace AI-assisted coding. Sebastian Raschka, an LLM research engineer at Lightning AI, noted that while using the tool is enjoyable, he sometimes prefers unassisted coding, comparing it to driving a manual car.
Cursor AI, the company behind the popular AI developer tool, recently secured $60 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with contributions from notable figures in the AI industry. The company is now valued at $400 million and has attracted over 30,000 customers, including engineers at firms like Perplexity, Scale AI, Shopify, and Instacart. As the AI coding market continues to grow, with numerous startups developing similar tools, Cursor seems well-positioned to make a significant impact.
The enthusiasm for its potential is evident, with users like Shyamal Anadkat praising its ability to solve bugs and build prototypes quickly. The rapid evolution of AI-assisted programming is transforming the way developers work, and as Karpathy stated over a year ago, “The hottest new programming language is English.” With tools like Cursor AI, this statement is becoming a reality.
