n a recent conversation, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, discussed the transformative potential of AI in software development.
A New Era of Software Engineering
Altman and Nadella reflected on the evolution of coding tools, from command-line interfaces (CLI) to the latest breakthrough: the Coding Agent.
Altman described this as “one of the biggest changes to programming that I’ve ever seen,” emphasizing the shift toward a “real agentic coding experience.”
This vision, which began with early collaborations on Codex in 2021, has now materialized into a virtual teammate capable of handling complex tasks.
Imagine assigning work to an AI that can fix bugs, implement features, or even tackle ambitious projects over days. This isn’t just automation—it’s “true software engineering task delegation.”
As Altman put it, developers can now “issue many requests in parallel,” streamlining workflows and boosting productivity. The Coding Agent integrates deeply with platforms like GitHub, accessing repositories and environments to deliver powerful results.
Nadella echoed this excitement, noting how these tools help developers “stay in the flow.”
By working alongside AI agents and human collaborators, developers can accelerate the software development life cycle, making it faster and more efficient.
Smarter, Simpler Models
Altman shared insights into OpenAI’s model roadmap, emphasizing not just smarter AI but simpler, more reliable systems. “The models will get simpler to use,” he said, predicting fewer choices and more intuitive interactions.
Developers won’t need to navigate a maze of options—AI will “just work,” handling complex tasks with minimal friction.
Future models will also bring enhanced features like multimodality and better tool integration, enabling developers to rely on AI for increasingly sophisticated tasks.
Nadella highlighted the partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, noting their history of simultaneously shipping cutting-edge models, which has fueled innovation in tools like Codex and ChatGPT.
Building Agentic Apps at Scale
The conversation turned to the rise of stateful, agentic applications—apps that leverage AI to act autonomously and maintain context over time.
Altman pointed to ChatGPT and Codex as prime examples, with the latter being a cornerstone for developers building these next-generation apps. He advised developers to embrace the rapid pace of change, noting that “planning for this incredible increase in model power” is critical.
“We haven’t seen many technological shifts like this in history,” Altman said, emphasizing that “leaning in early and hard has been very rewarded.”
Nadella reinforced this by stressing the need for app servers that can keep pace with the latest AI advancements, ensuring developers can “take the latest new sample that comes, and keep moving at that pace.”
The conversation closed with a nod to the developer community. Nadella highlighted the goal of conferences like Microsoft Build: to empower developers to build their own agentic apps, leveraging AI models and multi-agent orchestration.
Altman’s advice was clear—embrace the change, experiment with new tools, and prepare for a future where AI is a trusted partner in coding.
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