The AI Native Dev - from Copilot today to AI Native Software Development tomorrow The Man Behind World’s Largest Dev Con | Stephan & Devoxx
Sep 9, 2025
Stephan Janssen, the founder of Devoxx and JavaPolis, discusses the 'renaissance of development' shaped by AI-native workflows. He shares how vibe coding drastically reduces setup time and why 'spec to code' approaches improve outcomes. The conversation highlights the importance of AI tools for junior developers as universal tutors and the emergence of innovative agents set to dominate the Devoxx Belgium 2025 agenda. Janssen also explores the evolving role of tech conferences in today's AI landscape, emphasizing the need for balance between automation and robust specification.
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Built DevOps Genie For Local Models
- Stephan built a Java plugin called DevOps Genie because existing IDE assistants lacked local-model support.
- Within months it reached 30,000 downloads and supports switching between local and cloud models.
Rapid Prototype With Vibe Coding
- Stephan used vibe coding to rapidly prototype a React frontend while avoiding touching code because he didn't know React.
- He achieved about 90% functionality in two weeks before hitting complex edge-case failures.
Code→Spec→Spec→Code Loop
- Converting code-to-spec then spec-to-code cured many vibe-coding failures by creating clear, machine-readable feature definitions.
- Stephan used multiple LLMs to review and produce specs, then drove a fresh Angular build from those specs.