The Art of Context Engineering in AI Interactions

Unlock the future of AI tools, context engineering, and practical AI development in this special Episode 50 of Tool Use! We celebrate one year of weekly conversations by bringing back two dozen of the brightest minds in the AI space to share their most valuable lessons and predictions. Dive deep into the evolution from prompt engineering to context engineering, and learn how to master large language models (LLMs) and AI agents for maximum productivity and impact.

In this can't-miss episode, we explore the biggest takeaways from a revolutionary year in AI. Discover the power of reasoning models, the rapid advancement of local models, and the rise of multi-agent systems. Our expert guests, including entrepreneurs, researchers, and builders, discuss the critical importance of mindset, staying curious, and the human element in the age of AI. Learn practical strategies for building with AI, from owning your control flow and creating effective feedback loops to leveraging "vibe coding" and knowing when to use deterministic code versus fuzzy LLM functions.

Explore the latest in AI tooling and workflows, from using WhatsApp as a universal interface to the best practices for evals, tracing, and context management. Hear predictions on the future of AI, including the path to zero-cost intelligence, the rise of home robotics, and the solution to model orchestration. Whether you're a developer, entrepreneur, or just passionate about leveraging AI, this episode is packed with insights to help you stay ahead in this rapidly accelerating industry.

Join us as we discuss how to build for the future, augment human capabilities, and democratize the benefits of AI. Find out why the top 1% of builders approach AI differently and how you can apply their principles to your own projects.

Thank you for an incredible year! To support the show and help us bring on more amazing guests, please like, share, and subscribe.

12 Factor Agents - https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:05 Ty Fiero - Model Advances

00:04:21 Context Engineering

00:05:49 Ryan Carson - Obsess about context

00:06:23 Richard Abrich - Garbage in, garbage out

00:08:23 Michael Tiffany - More Metaprompt

00:09:13 Mindset

00:12:04 Dexter Horthy - Keep doing the hardest thing

00:15:22 Diamond Bishop - Change is the only constant

00:17:53 Dillion Verma - Build around AI

00:19:30 Freddie Vargus - Don't believe the magic

00:20:49 Wolfram Ravenwolf - Curiosity, motivation, and skepticism

00:22:13 Jake Koenig - Most things you learned are obsolete

00:23:19 Sarah Allali - Know the outcome your expecting

00:24:29 Practical Development and Tooling

00:27:12 Francisco Ingham - WhatsApp and leveraging humans with LLMs

00:30:27 Minki Jung - Standardized evals, tracing, context management

00:32:16 Hai Nghiem - Don't be too smart

00:35:02 Jason McGhee - Three camps of AI tool use

00:38:38 Olga Beregovaya - Right model for the job

00:40:01 Orlando Kalossakas - Prompting is vital

00:40:48 The Human Element

00:43:20 CJ Pais - AI to empower creatives

00:45:05 Kirk Marple - Play with vibe coding

00:47:17 David Cross - Think about the people first

00:48:13 Adam Cohen Hillel - Humans are the bottleneck

00:49:22 Aaron Wong-Ellis - Talk to your customers

00:50:34 Ian Pilon - What is agency?

00:51:56 Future Predictions

00:54:41 Thank you

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