AI, Reverse Engineering and the Possibility of Custom Software

SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

Matthew Berman describes AI-assisted efforts to recreate features of existing software and points to the open-source Reverse Engineer Anything project. He imagines combining selected features into customized applications. His claims that an entire suite has been recreated, that the results are effectively free, and that the process is categorically legal go beyond what the video establishes.

1Creative software recreatedBerman points to projects resembling Adobe applications and predicts that users may avoid paying for software. The video does not establish that the complete Adobe suite has been reproduced.
2Observe, build and compareHe describes an AI iteratively copying observed behavior rather than seeing the original source. A visual match does not establish functional equivalence.
3An open-source toolBerman points to Reverse Engineer Anything, a tool for reverse engineering. Its presence in the discussion does not establish that it produced the other projects shown.
4Software tailored to the userHe imagines combining only desired features with new ones, like a mashup of games. This is a prediction, not evidence that such applications will be free to build or maintain.

Takeaways

Berman describes an iterative approach in which an AI observes a feature, builds an approximation and compares the result with the original.
Reverse Engineer Anything is an open-source reverse-engineering tool; the video does not establish that it built the creative applications shown.
Recreating an interface or selected features does not by itself prove full product parity.
The legality and cost of a particular implementation depend on its methods, rights, jurisdiction and practical resources.

TopicsCoding agents Software engineering Open-source ecosystems Product Design

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Recreating creative applications

Berman claims that AI is enabling free recreations of Adobe software. The breadth, cost and legality of these projects are not established by the video.

You might never pay for software again, I suggest. I point to projects resembling Photoshop, Premiere and other Adobe applications and describe them as free recreations. The clip does not establish that the entire suite has been reproduced or that the alternatives match every feature.

Iterative reverse engineering

He describes an AI observing and rebuilding features, then introduces an open-source reverse-engineering project. The tool is separate from the creative applications shown.

The process I describe is iterative: an AI looks at a feature, tries to rebuild it without seeing the original source code, compares the result with the original, and keeps adjusting. I call this reverse engineering and point to an open-source project, Reverse Engineer Anything, that explores how to do it. The project's tool and the creative applications shown are distinct; this video does not demonstrate that the tool created those applications.

SLIDE 1 / 1Reverse Engineer Anything repositoryThe open-source project describes tools for analyzing binaries, applications and runtime behavior.

Custom software mashups

Berman imagines combining desired features and inventing new ones. He sees a future of software made specifically for each user.

Think of video-game mashups, such as Mario in Elden Ring or Minecraft in GTA. Now imagine taking only the Photoshop features you need and adding features that do not exist yet: software built specifically for you. I call it basically free, but development, computing and maintenance can still cost money. My claim that this is completely legal is too broad: the answer depends on the methods, applicable intellectual-property and contract rules, and jurisdiction.