Wes and Scott talk with Kyle Cesmat about how Coinbase is writing nearly half its code with AI—while keeping quality and security front and center. They dig into tools like Cursor and Claude Code, agent-driven workflows, code review challenges, and how AI is reshaping developer productivity without replacing developers.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
03:29 Defining and measuring “quality” at a large company
05:05 How AI-generated code is reviewed and shipped at Coinbase
07:35 A developer’s workflow using AI—from ticket to production
10:30 Standard vs. team-specific tools for AI development
12:55 Using MCP servers to power internal AI workflows
14:42 MCP vs. custom agent integrations
17:16 What kinds of code AI is writing at Coinbase
19:48 Which languages and tasks does AI handle best?
21:21 Getting AI to follow existing code conventions
- greptile
24:36 Brought to you by Sentry.io
25:01 How AI affects hiring, velocity, and developer focus
28:16 AI’s role in speeding up code reviews
31:28 The most valuable AI tool in Coinbase’s stack
33:48 Managing AI costs and model choices
35:10 Security considerations for using external AI models
37:04 How often Coinbase tunes and adjusts its AI systems
39:26 Using AI to write code vs. embedding AI in customer-facing features
42:29 Kyle’s big-picture take on AI as a tool—not a magic bullet
- Measuring the Impact of Early-2025 AI on Experienced Open-Source Developer Productivity
44:33 The future of hiring engineers with their own “backpack” of agents
45:53 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Kyle: UltraShelf

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944: Is Coinbase Really Writing Half Their Code With AI?