What Developers Actually Need to Know Right Now

Tim O'Reilly and Addy Osmani discuss the current state of AI-assisted software development. Key themes include: agent coordination being harder than generation, the gap between feeling productive and being productive with AI tools, the shift toward spending more time planning before coding, challenges of reviewing AI-generated PRs, token cost management, and the observation that 2028 AI coding predictions are already technically possible but adoption lags capability. Osmani argues software engineering remains a strong career path, especially for newcomers who can go 'agent-first' without unlearning old habits. Both agree AI represents a major shift but won't transform everything overnight.