This is Alex Heath, deputy editor at The Verge. My guest today is GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. In many ways, GitHub Copilot set off the current AI coding boom. But since Thomas was on the show a year ago, the rise of vibe coding has shifted the buzz to newer platforms like Cursor and Windsurf. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Thomas is thinking a lot about the competition, and GitHub’s role in the future of software development.
Links:
Developers, Reinvented | Thomas Dohmke / GitHub
Developer Odyssey | Thomas Dohmke / GitHub
Why tech is racing to adopt AI coding, with Cursor’s Michael Truell | Decoder
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says AI needs competition to thrive | Decoder
Up to 30 percent of some Microsoft code is now written by AI | Verge
GitHub launches its AI app-making tool in preview | Verge
Microsoft is getting ready for GPT-5 with a new Copilot smart mode | Verge
Zuckerberg: AI will write most Meta code within 18 months | Engadget
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:01:14
Why tech is racing to adopt AI coding
This is Casey Newton, founder and editor of the Platformer newsletter and cohost of the Hard Fork podcast. I’ll be guest hosting the next few episodes of Decoder while Nilay is out on parental leave. For the next three weeks, I’ll be talking to leaders in the productivity space about what they’re building, and how they can help us get things done.
My guest today: Michael Truell, the CEO of Anysphere, the maker of automated programming platform Cursor AI. I sat down with Michael to talk about his product and how it works, why coding with AI has seen such incredible adoption, and what the future of automated programming really looks like.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Anysphere, hailed as fastest growing startup ever, raises $900 Million | Bloomberg
AI coding assistant Cursor draws a million users without even trying | Bloomberg
Anthropic rehires AI leaders from Anysphere | The Information
Cursor apologizes for unclear pricing changes that upset users | TechCrunch
OpenAI looked at buying Cursor creator before turning to rival Windsurf | CNBC
Interview with Anysphere CEO Michael Truell about coding with AI | Stratechery
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Why AI researchers are getting paid like NBA All-Stars
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. Today I'm joined by Hayden Field, The Verge’s new senior AI reporter to talk about the AI talent wars and why some researchers are suddenly getting traded like their NBA superstars.
Both Hayden and I have been reporting on this for the past several weeks to get a sense of much these companies are paying for top talent, why Big Tech firms like Google are opting to hire instead of acquire, and what it means that some of the most sought-after AI experts in the world are no longer motivated by money alone.
Links:
OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | Verge
Mark Zuckerberg promises you can trust him with superintelligent AI | Verge
Meta is trying to win the AI race with money — but not everyone can be bought | Verge
Meta says it’s winning the talent war with OpenAI | Command Line
Google gets its swag back | Command Line
The AI talent wars are just getting started | Command Line
Meta tried to buy Safe Superintelligence, hired its CEO instead | CNBC
Apple loses top AI models executive to Meta’s hiring spree | Bloomberg
Meta’s AI recruiting campaign finds a new target | Wired
Anthropic hires back two AI leaders from Anysphere | The Information
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Can we ever trust an AI lawyer?
This is CNBC journalist Jon Fortt. This is the last episode I’ll be guest-hosting for Nilay while he’s out on parental leave. My guest today is Richard Robinson, who is the cofounder and CEO of legal tech startup Robin AI.
Richard is a corporate lawyer-turned-startup founder working on AI tools for the legal profession. But law and AI have not mixed well. So I wanted to ask Richard about hallucinations, how lawyers can use AI today, and what it will really take to place our trust in an AI lawyer.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Legal tech startup Robin AI raises another $25 million | Fortune
Why do lawyers keep using ChatGPT? | Verge
Judge slams lawyers for ‘bogus AI-generated research’ | Verge
Lawyers using AI must heed ethics rules, ABA says in first formal guidance | Reuters
Lawyers fined for submitting bogus case law created by ChatGPT | AP
The ChatGPT lawyer explains himself | NYT
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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54:53
We are not ready for better deepfakes
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host. Today I'm talking with Gaurav Misra, the CEO of Captions. You may not have heard of Captions yet, but by now, you’ve probably seen a video that was generated using its AI models. The company’s Mirage Studio platform lets anyone generate AI versions of real people, and the results are alarmingly realistic.
Captions just put out a blog post titled, “We Build Synthetic Humans. Here’s What’s Keeping Us Up at Night.” It’s a good overview of the state of deepfakes and where they’re headed. So Gauraav and I sat down to discuss the trajectory of deepfake technology and what might be done to prevent it from being misused.
Links:
We build synthetic humans. Here’s what’s keeping us up at night | Captions
Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator is a slop monger’s dream | Verge
Gemini AI can now turn photos into videos | Verge
Trump just unveiled his plan to put AI in everything | Verge
Racist videos made with AI are going viral on TikTok | Verge
Microsoft wants Congress to outlaw AI-generated deepfake fraud | Verge
YouTube is supporting the ‘No Fakes Act’ targeting unauthorized AI replicas | Verge
This Tom Cruise impersonator is using deepfake tech to impressive ends | Verge
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
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