Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch on AI-Powered Coding, Software 2.0, and the AI Open Source Question

In this episode, Nathan chats with Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel, to discuss how AI might shape the future of code, software 2.0, and the open source question in AI. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/cognitive for a $1/month trial period. SPONSORS: Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries.From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitive With the onset of AI, it’s time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. OCI is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. Train ML models on the cloud’s highest performing NVIDIA GPU clusters. Do more and spend less like Uber, 8x8, and Databricks Mosaic, take a FREE test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/cognitive NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ head to NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/cognitive and download your own customized KPI checklist. Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off. X/SOCIAL @labenz (Nathan) @rauchg (Guillermo) @CogRev_Podcast TIMESTAMPS (00:00:00) - Introductory comments (00:03:43) - Rauch's background in open source software like Mootools and Next.js (00:04:27) - Overview of Vercel and the front-end cloud concept (00:06:15) - Productivity gains from Vercel's front-end infrastructure (00:14:50) - Sponsors: Shopify | Omneky (00:21:00) - Rauch getting inspired by GitHub Copilot code auto-completion (00:24:00) - Launching Vercel's own AI product vZero: production-ready UI code from natural language prompts (00:29:17) - Sponsors: Oracle | Netsuite (00:30:00) - Transition to discussing the future of software development (00:34:12) - vZero surpassing Rauch's own hand-coded website on accessibility (00:51:00) - Discussion about focusing on the full stack beyond just the AI model (00:54:00) - Concept of Software 2.0 using data and AI instead of classical code (00:56:00) - Maintaining software 1.0 while aggressively expanding into 2.0 paradigm (00:56:12) - Philosophical support for open source and skepticism about risks (00:57:12) - How open source software tends to quickly improve over time (00:57:47) - Prediction that AI may "ossify" existing software 1.0 technologies (01:01:12) - AI enabling more grassroots innovation like Mark Zuckerberg originally did (01:07:00) - Concerns about regulatory suppression of open source AI progress (01:03:00) - Unpredictability of new risks that could emerge like impersonation (01:11:00) - Rejecting AI doom narratives but staying vigilant on capabilities (01:12:00) - Concluding thoughts on embracing AI progress with appropriate caution This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].