Microsoft's Satya Nadella opened the Build developer conference by highlighting the company's focus on agentic AI, but challenges loom over the event. Microsoft's stock has declined this year, while competitors have seen rising valuations. Its Copilot workplace AI products have underperformed, and Anthropic's Claude Code has taken the lead in agentic coding, prompting Microsoft to end its Claude Code licenses to push developers toward Copilot. Meanwhile, GitHub, a Microsoft subsidiary, has faced frequent downtimes, leading to complaints and even departures from the developer community. Source: wired
Scott Hanselman, a Microsoft VP and GitHub technical staff member, has been central to the company's push into agentic AI. He helped bring OpenClaw, an open-source project, into Microsoft and was part of Nadella's keynote demonstrating Copilot's capabilities. Hanselman acknowledged the intense interest in agentic coding but noted the skepticism of non-coder communities. He compared the AI adoption to the initial resistance to the Walkman, suggesting that acceptance will take time. Hanselman also emphasized that Microsoft's Copilot name has become a household term, much like Kleenex. Source: wired
Hanselman described GitHub's challenges as a result of increased bot traffic, which has placed significant pressure on the platform. He argued that GitHub remains reliable 99 percent of the time, with the current issues being a temporary hiccup. He also discussed the cautious approach to AI agents, noting that users must trust but verify their capabilities. Hanselman's perspective highlights both the potential and the resistance to agentic AI within Microsoft's ecosystem. Source: wired
