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Cursor AI presentation by co-founders Michael T and Sualeh A at AI Engineer conference
12 segments available
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The Future of Programming in the AI Era
Michael T and Sualeh A introduce the concept of programming in the age of AI, discussing the evolution of programming languages and tools. They emphasize the potential for a significant leap in developer productivity over the next decade, driven by advancements in AI technology.
"uh we're going to talk through cursor and give you a high level sense of what we'd like to do over the next few years and then do a little bit of a deep dive into some of what we've built so far uh an..."
Two Approaches to AI in Programming
The co-founders outline two prevailing approaches to integrating AI into programming: the agent approach, which suggests programming may become obsolete, and the plugin approach, which enhances existing coding environments. They argue that programming will remain a vital profession but will evolve significantly.
"and we're really nerd tonight by this problem of what is the equivalent of a highle programming language what is the equivalent of all of this tooling around programming languages in the AI age um and..."
Introducing Cursor: The AI-Powered Code Editor
Cursor is introduced as a new code editor designed specifically for AI-assisted programming. The founders explain their focus on enhancing the coding experience through features like code writing and Q&A, aiming to create the best tool for professional programmers.
"ton and it's not going to demand just a plug into an existing coding environment it's going to demand an entirely new tool for doing software engineering and so this focus on really pushing the ceilin..."
Predicting Programmer Actions with Copilot Plus+
The segment discusses the development of Copilot Plus+, a feature that predicts the next actions of programmers within a codebase. The founders explain how they built this predictive model, enhancing the coding experience by anticipating user needs.
"of illustrate why you would need uh a new Dev environment for this and not just to plug into an existing cing environment so one is we focused on um predicting the next move of a programmer in a code ..."
Command K: From Instruction to Code
The founders present Command K, a feature that allows users to convert instructions into code. They detail how this tool enables programmers to interact with their codebase more intuitively, facilitating a smoother coding process.
"too um okay so uh copile Plus+ so it started off with you know when we first wrote Our uh our vision for what we wanted to do the first line in there was like oh copal should do your next edit uh but ..."
Optimizing AI Tools for Programming
This segment focuses on the ongoing optimization of Cursor's features, including Copilot Plus+ and Command K. The founders discuss their commitment to improving accuracy and user experience, highlighting the importance of continuous updates and enhancements.
"things uh the super uh interesting problem for us was how to make it both low friction so you could if you have an instruction you want to type in a couple of characters you can do it very quickly but..."
The Future of Programming: Pseudo Code and AI Agents
The co-founders explore future directions for programming, including making coding feel more like writing pseudo code and the potential for AI agents to handle background tasks. They emphasize the importance of maintaining programmer control while leveraging AI capabilities.
"typescript you know people are writing things that are much more tur and kind of look a little bit like gibberish and they're getting expanded into code by the diff based autocomplete or they're writi..."
Technical Challenges in Building Cursor
The founders delve into the technical aspects of developing Cursor, discussing challenges related to model accuracy, performance, and the integration of AI features. They share insights on how they overcame these hurdles to create a robust coding environment.
"automation of PRS and instead in the meantime the way that this technology is going to be deployed is you're going to really constrain what the AI can do you know write the interface for a method or a..."
Enhancing Performance and User Experience
This segment highlights the importance of performance in Cursor, detailing the development of a fast and efficient code editor. The founders discuss their strategies for ensuring real-time context updates and optimizing the user experience.
"edit prediction objective and we've also spent a bunch of time optimizing the inference for these models too where uh when you're rewriting code often you know one thing you waste time on when you're ..."
Building a Talented Team for Cursor
The co-founders share their vision for building a talented team at Cursor, emphasizing the need for creative individuals in design and product development, as well as skilled researchers. They express their excitement about the future of programming and the role of Cursor in shaping it.
"and when you do edits uh on that codebase our embeddings sync extremely quickly and that means that your context is almost always very real time and it's not going to be something where you know you c..."
The Vision for the Next Five Years
The founders conclude with their ambitious vision for the next five years, believing that Cursor can revolutionize software engineering. They invite talented individuals to join their mission and express their passion for transforming the programming landscape.
"in enough itself and maybe just to wrap it up here um you know as a Shameless plug we're always looking for brilliant people to join us uh we're a really small talented team very in person based in Sa..."
Audience Q&A: Engaging with Users
In this segment, the founders engage with the audience during a Q&A session, addressing user experiences with Cursor and discussing advanced techniques for maximizing its potential. They highlight the importance of user feedback in shaping future developments.
"[Applause] too mic back thank you um thanks so much guys for going through that uh yeah we do have I think three minutes-ish left for Q&A um oh we have one already here"