Let's chat about vibe coding & Ralph! (Chat with Dexter at Humanlayer)

In this episode of The Infra Pod, hosts Tim and Ian sit down with Dexter Horthy, CEO of Human Layer, to explore the evolution of AI coding agents and the future of software development. Dexter shares his journey from building data tools to discovering the real problem: making AI coding agents actually productive for senior engineers, not just juniors.

The conversation dives deep into the research-plan-implement workflow that enables engineers to ship 99% of their code with AI assistance, the challenges of getting staff engineers to adopt AI tools, and why most AI coding ecosystems don't actually help you sell to enterprises. Dexter also shares his spicy take on how Ralph-style agents can be even further enhanced.

Whether you're a skeptical senior engineer or an AI-curious developer, this episode offers practical insights into what actually works in production AI coding today.

[0:00] Introduction & Dexter's Journey
Why Dexter finally started a company, the failed data catalog pivot, and building an AI janitor for data warehouses

[8:00] The Hard Lessons of AI Ecosystem Hype
Why there's no "SAML for AI agents" and what enterprises actually need versus what the hype machine promises

[13:00] The Research-Plan-Implement Breakthrough
How to make senior engineers productive with AI, staying objective during research, and making decisions at the top of the context window

[26:00] The Vibe Shift & Where We Are Today
When respected engineers started believing, the role of Ralph and spec-driven development, and what's working in production

[37:00] Spicy Take: Ralph Goes to the Supreme