The Best AI Advice for 2025

Unlock the future of AI tools, context engineering, and practical AI development in this special Episode 50 of Tool Use! We celebrate one year of weekly conversations by bringing back two dozen of the brightest minds in the AI space to share their most valuable lessons and predictions. Dive deep into the evolution from prompt engineering to context engineering, and learn how to master large language models (LLMs) and AI agents for maximum productivity and impact.

In this can't-miss episode, we explore the biggest takeaways from a revolutionary year in AI. Discover the power of reasoning models, the rapid advancement of local models, and the rise of multi-agent systems. Our expert guests, including entrepreneurs, researchers, and builders, discuss the critical importance of mindset, staying curious, and the human element in the age of AI. Learn practical strategies for building with AI, from owning your control flow and creating effective feedback loops to leveraging "vibe coding" and knowing when to use deterministic code versus fuzzy LLM functions.

Explore the latest in AI tooling and workflows, from using WhatsApp as a universal interface to the best practices for evals, tracing, and context management. Hear predictions on the future of AI, including the path to zero-cost intelligence, the rise of home robotics, and the solution to model orchestration. Whether you're a developer, entrepreneur, or just passionate about leveraging AI, this episode is packed with insights to help you stay ahead in this rapidly accelerating industry.

Join us as we discuss how to build for the future, augment human capabilities, and democratize the benefits of AI. Find out why the top 1% of builders approach AI differently and how you can apply their principles to your own projects.

Thank you for an incredible year! To support the show and help us bring on more amazing guests, please like, share, and subscribe.

12 Factor Agents - https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents

00:00:00 Intro 00:01:05 Ty Fiero - Model Advances 00:04:21 Context Engineering 00:05:49 Ryan Carson - Obsess about context 00:06:23 Richard Abrich - Garbage in, garbage out 00:08:23 Michael Tiffany - More Metaprompt 00:09:13 Mindset 00:12:04 Dexter Horthy - Keep doing the hardest thing 00:15:22 Diamond Bishop - Change is the only constant 00:17:53 Dillion Verma - Build around AI 00:19:30 Freddie Vargus - Don't believe the magic 00:20:49 Wolfram Ravenwolf - Curiosity, motivation, and skepticism 00:22:13 Jake Koenig - Most things you learned are obsolete 00:23:19 Sarah Allali - Know the outcome your expecting 00:24:29 Practical Development and Tooling 00:27:12 Francisco Ingham - WhatsApp and leveraging humans with LLMs 00:30:27 Minki Jung - Standardized evals, tracing, context management 00:32:16 Hai Nghiem - Don't be too smart 00:35:02 Jason McGhee - Three camps of AI tool use 00:38:38 Olga Beregovaya - Right model for the job 00:40:01 Orlando Kalossakas - Prompting is vital 00:40:48 The Human Element 00:43:20 CJ Pais - AI to empower creatives 00:45:05 Kirk Marple - Play with vibe coding 00:47:17 David Cross - Think about the people first 00:48:13 Adam Cohen Hillel - Humans are the bottleneck 00:49:22 Aaron Wong-Ellis - Talk to your customers 00:50:34 Ian Pilon - What is agency? 00:51:56 Future Predictions 00:54:41 Thank you

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