Why we believe AI deserves all the hype it gets - and more

Databutton’s autonomous app developer is already creating value as a Devin alternative for non-technical founders looking to launch their product ideas

If you’re an AI enthusiast or involved in the tech ecosystem, you’ve either heard of Devin AI by Cognition Labs or you’ve been living under a rock.

There was a tremendous response from the tech ecosystem when Devin by Cognition Labs came out of stealth mode on March 12th. The response included excitement, healthy skepticism, and anxiety for the future. But, the main thing was HYPE!

The emotional response and big opportunity messages of week 1 got bolstered with some real world examples from influencers the next week. Cognition Labs even sought a $2B valuation off the back of the Devin launch.

Then, the Internet started doing “it’s thang” and created content debunking Devin demos.

Suddenly, there was a big backlash to AI tools, backlash to the AI hype, and downplaying of what AI is useful for.

But we believe in the AI code generation hype

We at Databutton think that AI is more than another approach to automation. We believe in AI code generation replacing not only augmenting professional developers, but also replacing the need for hiring developers in some cases.

Why? Because we already see non-technical business founders and builders creating MVPs and applications using Databutton. Some screenshots from our Discord below 👇

And a hilarious message from one of our investors, the brilliant Caroline from Maki.vc wondering if we planted this guy in our Discord 😆

Databutton is far from perfect. We also get plenty of useful feedback to constantly improve 🙏 We’d love to have you join the conversation, too.

Getting code generation to replace the need for developers

Devin is trying to replace a software developer in a development team. The scope of what a software developer is responsible for is immense, and it’s quite hard to cover such a spectrum of tasks and requirements with an AI agent, especially today.

The vision is for building a general purpose “AI software developer” is large and therefore it’s naturally hard to project and see how AI could fill those large boots. After all, a software developer doesn’t simply produce code, she needs to prioritize work, fix bugs, build new features, define how things should work, test, understand customers, collaborate with other roles, and a lot more!

We believe in nuancing the need for a software developer to a specific target customer and satisfying a more narrow use case. Therefore, Databutton is for non-technical founders that are looking to launch a product idea quickly. Today, they need to either:

• Learn how to code
• Learn how to use a no-code tool like Bubble
• Hire a freelancer using platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, etc.
• Engage an expensive dev shop

People who are time or cash strapped simply cannot get off the ground. AI code generation provides another path for these people.

The Databutton AI app developer specializes in building full-stack web app MVPs, especially when the apps are AI-driven themselves. Customers communicate with Databutton’s AI app developer in a chat interface within the Databutton workspace.

In the end, we believe in people

Shocking twist?

We know that AI code generation isn’t perfect today. As an aside: what solution is perfect, really?

What we do know is that working with an AI developer gives non-technical folks an incredible leg up to get going and realizing their vision. It’s not only a copilot for professional developers.

The idiom “the first step is always the hardest” applies here. If the first step to creating your app is a message to an AI developer, you’re far more likely to invest the time it takes to make your app functional, marketable, and eventually perfect.

The roles are clear: the customer is responsible for what to build and the AI developer is responsible for building it. The gap between what AI produces and what you want may exist, but closing the context gap with the AI by providing designs, screenshots, documentation, and more truly gets a non-technical person to a working MVP.

We also believe that people evolve, change, and learn. The sense of progress and corresponding motivation leads people to dive in where they previously wouldn’t have before. People that work with AI code generation will become technical in the process of succeeding.

Do you have an idea that just needs to see the light of day? We’re available and ready to help!