Scott and Mark learn to Vibe Check with Simon Willison | LIVE113
Scott Hanselman hosts a live Build 2026 “vibe check” with Simon Willison, reviewing AI-assisted demos and digging into what the AI actually built, where the seams are, and what it would take to move from clever prototype to production-ready software.
Overview
In this live showcase format, developers present AI-assisted apps, agents, tools, and workflows to Scott Hanselman and Mark Russinovich. The discussion focuses on practical evaluation: how each demo works, what parts were generated or assisted by AI, where the implementation boundaries are, and whether the result is a prototype or something that could realistically be hardened for production.
Session chapters (from the video description)
- Demonstration of a “Data Set Agent” analyzing blog data
- Simon Willison introduction and discussion of a demo
- Plugin decorator and agent tools registration
- Plugins vs tools, including an MCP comparison
- Using Codex Desktop and Claude Code for quick deployments
- Discussion: typing code vs prompt engineering vs voice input
- Why intentional focus and expertise still matter in AI-assisted coding
- Reflections on AI-augmented software engineering
- Closing remarks