The Major Players Lay Out AI Plans: What does it mean for Developers?

May was a month for consolidation of AI plans. OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft all unveiled their vision of the AI future. There was a heavy emphasis on the developer experience in each vision. This series explores what each tech giant envisions for the future of development and what each of the major developments mean for us. It seems so odd that what was once a tiny little company is now one of the top 3 - and of course Anthropic is right up there.

Focus on How Software Development will Evolve

There are a lot of great (maybe premature) reviews and recaps of announcements. Most of us try to keep up with all of them as best we can. Instead, we'll be focusing on the implications of these announcements. What do they mean for our work? How will we use the tools and how are they meant to help us? We don’t evaluate the ability to execute, rather the intention to ultimately start the conversation : how do we see the future for ourselves and how will we implement it?

OpenAI: gpt-4o for multi-modality and speed

OpenAI's recent announcement of their omni model brings us multi-modality, but also speed and cost improvements. In some ways there was some catch up to do with Gemini - but the results for gpt-4o are pretty great so betting your development future never seems like a bad idea. To me the speed enhancements mean that my chat interfaces feel more interactive and the cost relief is always welcome. However, beyond that - they are delivering multi-modality that is truly unified, not stitched together with whisper and DallE et al. We’ll explore in more detail as the series goes on how this helps us evolve our apps and how we build them.

Google: AI as a Platform

Google's focus lies in building AI as a powerful platform for developers. Their announcements showcased all the new tools and frameworks, aiming to empower developers to integrate AI into existing applications and build entirely new AI-powered services. This approach is all about scalability and flexibility - a one stop shop for all things AI (except for the best model!). We'll delve into the implications of Google's vision, examining how these platforms will impact the development landscape and the potential for faster development on Google's infrastructure.

Microsoft: The AI-Powered Enterprise

Microsoft's strategy is centered around leveraging AI to revolutionize the enterprise landscape. Their announcements highlight the integration of AI into existing Microsoft products like Office and Azure, aiming to empower businesses with AI-powered automation and insights. This approach is all about efficiency and productivity. We'll explore how these developments extend to developers in the coming years. I’m particularly interested in what the NPU means to you on their latest laptops. How will you use it? What are pitfalls?

Our Collective Thoughts

This series is about discussing how we want to shape our future - with some tips and tricks to help us get there. The developer community has a vital role to play in shaping the future of AI - I am not yet convinced it’s game over for the role. Are you? This series aims to provide a platform for discussion, a space for developers to share their insights, concerns, and hopes for the future of AI in particular while developing.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we dive deeper into Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC vision and explore the potential impact on our daily coding lives.

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