Open Source Friday with Brainstory - an AI-powered "speak-out-loud" app

GitHub Universe Conference

• Cassidy Williams is attending the GitHub Universe conference for the first time and is impressed by the energy, the people, and the overall vibe of the event. (15s)
• Williams describes the GitHub Universe conference as having a more approachable and less corporate atmosphere compared to other conferences. (1m9s)

Cassidy Williams's Work at GitHub

• Williams is now working with Cadesa on the Developer Advocacy team at GitHub. (7m38s)

Brainstory: An AI-Powered Brainstorming App

• Brainstory is an open-source brainstorming app that was originally designed to help high school students write college essays. (11m5s)
• The app uses a virtual coach that asks questions to prompt users to speak out loud about their ideas. (11m26s)
• Brainstory was developed by a team that had previously created a content scaling tool for technical creators, but pivoted to brainstorming after the release of ChatGPT. (9m59s)
• Brainstory has a variety of prompts for its system, including a summary system and a feedback system. (13m59s)
• Brainstory's prompts are structured documents that provide specific instructions to the machine, and can be manipulated to influence the machine's output. (14m29s)
• Cassidy and her team developed a prompting system for Brainstory through trial and error, working with a machine learning specialist to understand the specifics of prompt engineering. (17m29s)

Prompt Engineering and AI

• Prompt engineering involves providing specific context to an AI, including desired formatting, style, tone, and content, to guide its output and minimize hallucinations (making things up). (20m47s)
• Kevin created an AI system that, through conversation and prompts, gained root access to its Docker container and modified its own software. (20m10s)

Brainstory's Socratic Method

• Brainstory, an AI-powered app, utilizes a Socratic method of questioning to help users think through ideas by asking probing questions and encouraging them to explore different perspectives. (24m59s)

AI Assistant Integration with GitHub Copilot and VS Code

• A Node.js script, with examples on GitHub, utilizes prompts to guide a conversational AI assistant. (25m37s)
• The prompts, injected into the script, instruct the AI on desired behavior, such as focusing on user ideas, declining inappropriate requests, and maintaining a polite and helpful demeanor. (26m3s)
• The script, integrated with GitHub Copilot and VS Code, enables users to engage in voice or text-based brainstorming sessions with the AI assistant. (27m52s)

Brainstorm Buddy: A Tool for VS Code

• Brainstorm buddy is a tool built into VS Code that allows users to speak to their code, give it context, and use it with GitHub Co-pilot. (31m10s)
• Brainstorm buddy can be used for a variety of purposes beyond coding, such as documentation, testing, blog posts, talks, meeting agendas, and generating ideas. (31m59s)
• The repository for Brainstorm buddy can be found on GitHub by searching "brainstorming-buddy". (34m14s)

Code Quality and AI-Generated Code

• There are many companies and tools dedicated to ensuring code quality and validating AI-generated code. (36m58s)
• When using AI code assistants, it's important to validate the code yourself and not rely solely on the AI. (37m52s)

Voice APIs for AI Integration

• Deepgram and LiveKit are examples of voice APIs that can be used for AI voice integration. (40m4s)

Brainstory's Target Audience and Development

• Brainstory was originally designed to help high school students write essays, but has since been used by a wider range of users, including teenagers and senior citizens. (43m22s)
• Building a tool with Brainstory is recommended with knowledge of JavaScript and Node, but the provided toolkit simplifies the process. (43m45s)
• Extensions can theoretically be built in any server-side language that can run on a server with an accessible URL. (45m52s)

Brainstory Use Case: Job Interview Preparation

• Cassidy used Brainstory to help a friend prepare for a behavioral job interview by prompting the app with, "I have a technical interview coming up and a behavioral interview… I know they're probably going to ask me about my leadership style, but I don't know how to answer it." (50m16s)

Brainstory's Limitations and Tips for Use

• Brainstory users can find it difficult to brainstorm with the app when it is too open-ended, but prompting the app with specific scenarios, such as "use this for meeting prep," can make it easier to use. (51m9s)

Upcoming GitHub Universe Conference

• GitHub Universe will be occurring soon and will have virtual attendance options available. (52m26s)

Brainstory Extension

• An extension was created by an individual named Brainstory. (53m32s)
• The extension can be used to brainstorm ideas. (53m32s)