Jack Dorseys Block Made an AI Agent to Boost Its Own Productivity
Summary
At a company-wide hackathon this month, developers at finance firm Block built a dizzying number of prototype tools including a database debugger, a program for identifying duplicated code, and an app that automates Bitcoin support. “Weve always had really strong hack weeks, but this one was at another level,” says Jackie Brosamer, who leads the AI and data platform at Block. Developers at the company admitted that the agent increased their output but at the time also sometimes made mistakes like deleting the odd file (this can still happen sometimes). Agents are starting to change the way many developers and companies operate as AI models get better at managing code, using computers, and wielding tools. Block’s Goose is available as open source (the name, in case you didn’t guess, was inspired by Maverick’s friend in the movie Top Gun).