Yoko Li, Martin Casado, and James Cowling discuss the origin of AI Town from a companion app project. They talk about the unpredictability of AI agents in the town and the choice to use Javascript and Convex for development. They also touch on interacting with AI models as if they are lifeforms and the potential for wide-ranging simulated AI worlds. The podcast explores the distinction between programming and modeling in AI, as well as the role of games in fostering creativity and innovation in AI Town.

James Cowling, co-founder of Convex, discusses designing infrastructure for product engineers. Topics include edge computing challenges, user state importance, AI in modern development, Firebase comparison, server rendering, data storage, and cost efficiency in cloud platforms.

James Cowling, expert in building and maintaining popular apps and backends, discusses how Convex offers a simpler full-stack developer experience. They cover topics such as serverless backends, reactive UI frameworks, developer experience vs. user experience, the role of abstraction in language learning, the power of abstractions in database design, the challenges of implementing algorithms, and the dominance of JavaScript in the software industry.