\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to find programmers these days who aren\u2019t using AI coding assistants in some capacity, especially to write the repetitive, mundane bits.<\/p>\n
But those who refused to try the tools when Coinbase bought enterprise licenses for GitHub Copilot and Cursor got promptly fired, CEO Brian Armstrong said this week on John Collison\u2019s podcast \u201cCheeky Pint.\u201d<\/a> (Collison is the co-founder and president of the payments company Stripe.)<\/p>\n After getting licenses to cover every engineer, some at the cryptocurrency exchange warned Armstrong that adoption would be slow, predicting it would take months to get even half the engineers using AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n Armstrong was shocked at the thought. \u201cI went rogue,\u201d he said, and posted a mandate in the company\u2019s main engineering Slack channel. \u201cI said, \u2018AI is important. We need you to all learn it and at least onboard. You don\u2019t have to use it every day yet until we do some training, but at least onboard by the end of the week. And if not, I\u2019m hosting a meeting on Saturday with everybody who hasn\u2019t done it and I\u2019d like to meet with you to understand why.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At the meeting, some people had reasonable explanations for not getting their AI assistant accounts set up during the week, like being on vacation, Armstrong said.<\/p>\n \u201cI jumped on this call on Saturday and there were a couple people that had not done it. Some of them had a good reason, because they were just getting back from some trip or something, and some of them didn\u2019t [have a good reason]. And they got fired.\u201d<\/p>\n Armstrong admits that it was a \u201cheavy-handed approach\u201d and there were people in the company who \u201cdidn\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> While it doesn\u2019t sound like very many people were fired, Armstrong said it sent a clear message that AI is not optional. Still, everything about that story is wild: that there were engineers who wouldn\u2019t spend a few minutes of their week signing up for and testing the AI assistant \u2014 the most hyped tech for coders ever \u2014 and that Armstrong was willing to fire them over it.<\/p>\n Coinbase did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Since then, Armstrong has leaned further into the training. He said the company hosts monthly meetings where teams who have mastered creative ways to use AI share what they have learned.<\/p>\n Interestingly, Collison, who has been programming since childhood<\/a>, questioned how much companies should be relying on AI-generated code.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear that it is very helpful to have AI helping you write code. It\u2019s not clear how you run an AI-coded code base,\u201d he commented. Armstrong replied, \u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, as TechCrunch previously reported, a former OpenAI engineer described<\/a> that company\u2019s central code repository as \u201ca bit of a dumping ground.\u201d The engineer said management had begun dedicating engineering resources to improve the situation.<\/p>\n We\u2019re always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out\u00a0<\/em>this survey<\/a><\/em>\u00a0to let us know how we\u2019re doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 27-29, 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n