Amjad Masad - The Future of Software Creation - [Invest Like the Best, EP.310]

My guest today is Amjad Masad. Amjad is the founder and CEO of Replit, whose mission is to bring the next billion software creators online. Replit has built a browser-based coding environment that makes coding more fun, collaborative, and approachable. We discuss how that is possible and why the way most of us interact with computers today is suboptimal. We then go into the effects of AI on software creation and its broader impacts on technology. Please enjoy my conversation with Amjad Masad.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes[00:02:18] - [First question] - The Steve Jobs black-pill 

[00:06:02] - Speculation on the near future of programming

[00:09:38] - Potential convergence of simple software and coding tools

[00:11:23] - What an IDE is and how it works

[00:12:44] - The definition of REPL and the role of Replit in the space

[00:14:21] - Decreasing friction in a programming environment using primitives

[00:19:47] - Real-world effects of Replit’s low-friction design

[00:23:27] - His perspective on new coding and AI technologies

[00:30:29] - Promises and limitations of the user-friendly programming movement

[00:33:16] - The dynamic nature of IDE technology and its challenges

[00:39:53] - How he’s priming his team to react to new technologies like the upcoming GPT-4

[00:43:58] - Recommended skills and training for the AI world of the future

[00:47:21] - The impact of IDE and AI tech innovations on existing tech giants

[00:51:56] - His mixed but optimistic views on the trajectory of AI

[00:54:40] - Recommendations for the curious listener without a programming background

[00:56:50] - The role of smartphones in the IDE movement

[00:58:28] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him