Shawn Wang, the coined term 'AI Engineer,' talks about the evolution of software development, the rise of AI engineers, AGI, and his 'smol-developer' project that facilitates quick project bootstrapping using prompt engineering.
The Small Developer project simplifies the process of starting a new code base by generating code based on prompts, making it easier for users to create one-off apps or small projects.
Prompt engineering and AI engineering will become even more important skills in the future of software development, with English potentially becoming the primary programming language for non-technical users.
Deep dives
Summary of Small Developer Project
The Small Developer project aims to fill a gap in the coding assistance tools available by providing a platform for users to easily scaffold and build new code bases. It simplifies the process of starting a new code base from scratch by generating code based on prompts written in plain language. Users have built a variety of applications, including VS Code extensions, CRM systems, and chatbot plugins. The project lowers the activation energy for building apps, making it easier for users to create one-off apps or small projects. While the project has gained popularity, it's not designed to make money, but rather serves as a stepping stone for a larger startup platform idea.
The Future of Software Engineering
In the future, software engineering is expected to continue using traditional software 1.0 code, but with increased incorporation of language-based prompts. English may become the primary programming language for non-technical users, enabling end-user computing. While code will still be necessary to fully harness the potential of software 3.0 (AI models), prompt engineering and AI engineering will become even more important skills. However, newcomers may face a disadvantage as they will still need to learn software 1.0 skills alongside prompt engineering. Software engineering as a field is expected to be the last job to be automated, making it a secure career choice. The vision of a post-work society may still be far off, but the potential for technology to improve job security and create a better future remains.
Sean Wang's Projects and Online Presence
Sean Wang, also known as Swix, is involved in various projects and online platforms. He can be found on Twitter with the handle @swyx and has a personal website at swyx.io. One of his main blog platforms is Late2Nspace, where he explores prompt engineering and AI engineering. He recently organized the AI Engineer Summit, a conference focused on AI engineering, which provides valuable insights into the field. Sean is also working on building a startup platform to help users easily create their own apps, expanding on the success of his Small Developer project.
In this episode, I spoke with Shawn Wang, who coined the term "AI Engineer" as a new title for engineers who are building the chains and agents that powers AI applications. This is likely to be the highest-demand engineering job of the decade.
We talked about the evolution of software development and how AI is changing everything. And why ambitious developers should attach themselves to AI and build thought leadership in this space.
We also touched on topics such as AGI (artificial general intelligence), and talked about Shawn's "smol-developer" project, which lets you bootstrap entire projects using prompt engineering.
If you want to see Shawn's short demo of smol-developer, then you can watch the episode on YouTube here.