GM for Amazon CodeWhisperer Doug Seven

EPISODE SUMMARY

Doug explains how Amazon CodeWhisperer was designed to save engineering time, and reflects on what it means for something to be truly "generative"

EPISODE NOTES

Generative AI is becoming more common in our lives as the technology grows and evolves. There are now AI companions to help other AI models execute their tasks more efficiently, and Amazon CodeWhisperer (ACW) is among the best in the game. We are joined today by the General Manager of Amazon CodeWhisperer and Director of Software Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Doug Seven.We discuss how Doug and his team are able to remain agile in such a huge organization like Amazon before getting a crash course on the two-pizza-team philosophy and everything you need to know about ACW and how it works. Then, we dive into the characteristics that make up a generative AI model, why Amazon felt it necessary to create its own AI companion, why AI is not here to take our jobs, how Doug and his team ensure that ACW is safe and responsible, and how generative AI will become common in most households much sooner than we may think.Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing the Director of Software Development and General Manager of Amazon CodeWhisperer at Amazon Web Services, Doug Seven.
• A day in the life of Doug in his role at Amazon.
• What his team currently looks like.
• Whether he and his team retain their agility in a massive organization like Amazon.
• A crash course on the two-pizza-team philosophy.
• How Doug ended up at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and leading ACW.
• What ACW is, how it works, and why you need it for you and your business.
• Assessing if generative AI models need to produce new code to be considered generative.
• Why Amazon felt it pertinent to create its own AI companion in ACW.
• How to use ACW to its full potential.
• The way recommendations change and improve once ACW has access to your code base.
• Examples that reiterate how AI is not here to take your job but to do the jobs you hate.
• Guardrails that ACW is putting up to ensure that it remains safe, secure, and responsible.
• How generative AI will become more accessible to the masses as it evolves.