Event: BeCPP Symposium 2026 ( https://becpp.org/Symposium2026/ )
Slides: https://becpp.org/blog/2026/04/16/slides-of-the-becpp-symposium-2026-sessions/

Speaker: Herb Sutter
Title: C++ Growing in a world of competition, safety, and AI

Abstract:
These are exciting times for C++. This talk will cover why to be excited about the new C++26 standard, which is expected to be technically finalized 48 hours before this talk. More broadly, it will cover why C++’s strong market growth — and the strong growth of human software development in general — are likely to continue for the foreseeable future in a world of explosively growing software demands for performance, security, and AI.

Bio:
Herb is a technical fellow at Citadel Securities, designer of several Standard C++ features, chair emeritus of the ISO C++ committee, and chair of the Standard C++ Foundation. His current interest is simplifying C++.

ISO C++ is the official website for the C++ programming language standardization committee, providing information, resources, and updates on the evolution of the C++ language. With a focus on language features, library enhancements, and standardization efforts, ISO C++ keeps developers informed about the latest developments in C++ programming. Developers can learn about upcoming language features, review proposals for language changes, and contribute to the evolution of the C++ language through active participation in the standardization process.

Herb Sutter's keynote at BeCPP Symposium 2026 covers three structural changes affecting C++: power constraints driving demand for performance-per-watt languages, evolving software security landscape, and AI's impact on programming. C++ grew 74% in the last 3 years, outpacing the average 50% growth across all languages. The talk argues that memory safety is only 3 of the top 10 software vulnerabilities, that C++ is safer than C when distinguished properly, and that C++26 ships meaningful safety improvements (initialization safety, hardened standard library, contracts) with minimal overhead. On AI, Sutter argues it reduces drudgery and helps with long-tail bugs but won't replace human programmers, drawing parallels to Visual Basic's democratizing effect. Hyperscaler CapEx on power (~$700B across 5 companies in 2025) directly benefits performance-focused languages like C, C++, and Rust.

BeCPP Symposium 2026 - Herb Sutter - C++ Growing in a world of competition, safety, and AI