In the early days of computing, the vision for how humans would interact with computers looked nothing like the paradigm we've known for the past 50 years. One of the founding documents of computing was Alan Turing’s “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.” In it, Turing didn’t describe the point-and-click paradigm we have today.
Instead, the earliest visions of computing machines were framed as reasoning agents, responding dynamically to human input. When John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon coined the term “artificial intelligence” in a 1955 research proposal, they described machines that, rather than relying on step-by-step human prompting, could autonomously perform tasks, learn, and even reason like a human.
That vision never materialized, due to a combination of hardware constraints, especially insufficient processing power, as well as slow progress in AI through the 1980s and 1990s, and the commercial success of the graphical user interface (GUI). People settled for a direct manipulation paradigm, where users manually interact with graphical interfaces via mouse and keyboard.
Even in these simpler forms, Steve Jobs described computers as “a bicycle of the mind… something that takes us far beyond our inherent abilities.” But the vision for a computer wasn’t meant to be a tool you handle, like a pencil. It was meant to automate away aspects of work that humans don’t need to do.
What’s old is becoming new. Increasingly, computing is returning to the original vision of its founding days — autonomous reasoning machines that can perform tasks independent of direct human manipulation. McKinsey estimates $4.4 trillion of annual economic value creation globally due to AI, largely driven by AI agents. Andrew Ng has described agentic AI as “the most important trend to pay attention to” in November 2024.
The introduction of agents in almost every use case is expected to be the primary driver of value as AI is increasingly deployed, and it is expected to increase in volume by 45% over the next five years. More agents, everywhere. 2025 is expected to be the year of the AI agent. The number of enterprise applications with agentic AI is projected to increase to 33% by 2028, up from 1% today.
That’s where Replit comes in. Replit is pushing forward the usefulness of AI agents in one key category — software creation.
Since the company’s beginning, Replit’s mission has been to democratize access to programming and empowering a billion software creators. Amjad Masad, the CEO of Replit, believes that AI is the unlock to that democratization. As he describes it, “if you can use a computer you should be able to make software.”
The Replit Agent is a code generation agent meant to automatically produce an application from an idea expressed in natural language. By removing the barrier of becoming a professional software engineer, Replit can enable the fruition of the original vision of computing — autonomously generated software applications that can perform specific tasks.
To learn more about Replit and how the company is making the original vision of computing a reality with agentic AI, check out our new memo on the company.
Important Disclosures
This material has been distributed solely for informational and educational purposes only and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or to participate in any trading strategy. All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy, adequacy, or completeness cannot be guaranteed, and Contrary LLC (Contrary LLC, together with its affiliates, “Contrary”) makes no representation as to its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness.
The information herein is based on Contrary beliefs, as well as certain assumptions regarding future events based on information available to Contrary on a formal and informal basis as of the date of this publication. The material may include projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events, targets or expectations. Past performance of a company is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that any opinions, forecasts, projections, risk assumptions, or commentary discussed herein will be realized. Actual experience may not reflect all of these opinions, forecasts, projections, risk assumptions, or commentary.
Contrary shall have no responsibility for: (i) determining that any opinions, forecasts, projections, risk assumptions, or commentary discussed herein is suitable for any particular reader; (ii) monitoring whether any opinions, forecasts, projections, risk assumptions, or commentary discussed herein continues to be suitable for any reader; or (iii) tailoring any opinions, forecasts, projections, risk assumptions, or commentary discussed herein to any particular reader’s objectives, guidelines, or restrictions. Receipt of this material does not, by itself, imply that Contrary has an advisory agreement, oral or otherwise, with any reader.
Contrary is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The registration of Contrary in no way implies a certain level of skill or expertise or that the SEC has endorsed Contrary. Investment decisions for Contrary clients are made by Contrary. Please note that, although Contrary manages assets on behalf of Contrary clients, Contrary clients may take any position (whether positive or negative) with respect to the company described in this material. The information provided in this material does not represent any investment strategy that Contrary manages on behalf of, or recommends to, its clients.
Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, company or product made reference to directly or indirectly in this material, will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated performance level(s), or be suitable for your portfolio. Due to rapidly changing market conditions and the complexity of investment decisions, supplemental information and other sources may be required to make informed investment decisions based on your individual investment objectives and suitability specifications. All expressions of opinions are subject to change without notice. Investors should seek financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any security of the company discussed in this presentation.
Please see www.contrary.com/legal for additional important information.
