In warning to Devs Devin AI gets very close to being an autonomous end to end software engineer
In time we'll see a fully autonomous AI software developer, at first it will be okay, then it will be great.
Key takeaways
- The model, dubbed ‘Devin’ is developed by AI startup Cognition.
- Backed by bigwigs like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, former Twitter exec Elad Gil, and Doordash co-founder Tony Xu, Cognition has secured $21 million in funding.
- Devin could solve 13.86% of these cases entirely independently compared to figures like 4.8% for Claude, 3.97% for a different AI called SWE-Llama, and 1.74% for GPT-4.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2024) 'In warning to Devs Devin AI gets very close to being an autonomous end to end software engineer', 311 Institute, 21 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/in-warning-to-devs-devin-ai-gets-very-close-to-being-an-autonomous-end-to-end-software-engineer/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model has triggered unease among developers because of its astounding ability to write complex code, then scan any errors that may arise in compilation and automatically correct them – just like a human programmer would. The model, dubbed ‘Devin’ is developed by AI startup Cognition.
Backed by bigwigs like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, former Twitter exec Elad Gil, and Doordash co-founder Tony Xu, Cognition has secured $21 million in funding. And while AI coding assistants like those on Stackoverflow and Github have been around for a while, including OpenAI’s celebrated Copilot, Devin purportedly raises the bar by taking on end-to-end development responsibilities.
If Cognition’s claims hold water, Devin could mark a shift in the world of AI-assisted coding. Rather than playing second fiddle to human developers, this AI seems primed to operate as a self-sufficient, dare we say ‘edging on autonomous,’ software engineer in its own right. According to the startup’s founder and CEO Scott Wu, Devin operates within a secure sandbox, planning and executing complex engineering tasks through common dev tools like code editors and web browsers.
All a human needs to do is feed Devin instructions via a chat interface. From there, the AI dynamically maps out a solution, gets its hands dirty writing the actual code, fixes bugs along the way, tests its work, and keeps the user updated in real-time. If the programmer spots any issues, they can simply message Devin to course-correct.
See DEVIN in action
Wu demonstrated Devin’s impressive range in a blog post, from deploying web apps and websites to fine-tuning large language models using GitHub repos.
Perhaps its biggest feat, however, is its performance on the SWE-bench test which evaluates AI’s ability to resolve real open-source software issues from GitHub. Devin could solve 13.86% of these cases entirely independently compared to figures like 4.8% for Claude, 3.97% for a different AI called SWE-Llama, and 1.74% for GPT-4.
While Devin remains under wraps for now, Cognition hopes to make it available to select customers soon. The company seems to view coding as just the start too, suggesting it could leverage its core “long-term reasoning and planning” advances to create AI workers for other domains.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
In time we'll see a fully autonomous AI software developer, at first it will be okay, then it will be great.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 21 March 2024. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2024). In warning to Devs Devin AI gets very close to being an autonomous end to end software engineer. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/in-warning-to-devs-devin-ai-gets-very-close-to-being-an-autonomous-end-to-end-software-engineer/
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