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Block, company behind Afterpay and Square, open-sources AI agent

Jan 28, 2025 - businessinsider.com
Block, the company behind fintechs Square and Cash App, has launched an AI agent named Goose, which is now open source and available for public use. Developed over nine months by a team of 12 experts, Goose is designed to automate coding tasks and improve efficiency, reportedly saving Block's engineers about 20% of their time. The AI has been used internally by around 1,000 engineers to perform tasks like rewriting code in different languages and automating updates. Goose's open-source nature allows engineers, including competitors, to use, modify, and distribute it, aligning with Block's mission of economic empowerment.

The AI agent was initially aimed at assisting engineers but has also attracted interest from non-tech employees for its potential to enhance productivity in various roles. Goose can integrate with tools like Google Calendar and help non-technical staff understand and write code, such as SQL. Block anticipates that external contributions to Goose will enhance its capabilities, allowing the company to incorporate new ideas and integrations more rapidly. Despite Goose's efficiency, Block does not expect it to impact hiring but rather to enhance workforce productivity by 30% or more.

Key takeaways:

  • Block, Jack Dorsey's company, launched an AI agent called Goose, which is open source and available for anyone to use.
  • Goose has been used internally by about 1,000 engineers to automate tasks and improve coding efficiency, saving them approximately 20% of their time.
  • The AI agent was developed over nine months by a team of 12 experts and can work with any large-language model, aiming to fulfill Block's mission of economic empowerment.
  • Goose's open-source nature allows for external contributions, which Block can integrate into their work, enhancing both technical and non-technical tasks.
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