Dev Interrupted

The hosts reflect on a transformative year, celebrating their growth and gratitude. They dive into the potential of AI in automating mundane tasks, allowing more room for creativity. A discussion on MCP agents highlights the need for safeguards and accountability for AI-generated code. They reassess outdated engineering principles and tackle the ongoing shift to remote work, questioning if return-to-office mandates are merely masking layoffs. Plus, insights from Cloudflare on internet traffic trends add a timely touch.

Manoj Mohan, an engineering executive with experience at Intuit, Meta, and Apple, shares insights on the evolving role of leadership in tech. He argues that as AI becomes more integrated, the demand for strategic oversight is skyrocketing. Manoj outlines his '3GF' framework for responsible AI and stresses the importance of starting with customer pain points. He also discusses reducing developer toil through automation, and the necessity for leaders to cultivate daily learning and adaptability in the age of AI.

Elliot Marx, co-founder of Chalk and fintech infrastructure expert, discusses the crucial shift from pre-computed data towards real-time data pipelines for AI and ML. He highlights how real-time compute can significantly reduce costs and latency, and emphasizes the importance of strong problem-solving skills over specific programming language expertise. Elliot advocates for incremental development, empowering engineers, and maintaining close customer relationships to shape product roadmaps. He also touches on the necessity of leadership skills in the AI era.

Erin Yepis, Research Manager at Stack Overflow, discusses the 2025 Developer Survey. She highlights a rebound in developer job satisfaction, driven by autonomy and pay increases. Erin explores the happiness gap between junior and senior engineers and reveals a surprising decline in trust for AI tools despite rising adoption. They also analyze why 'vibe coding' isn't resonating with professionals and offer strategies for leaders to engage developers better in an evolving tech landscape.

Craig McLuckie, Co-founder and CEO of Stacklok and Kubernetes co-creator, navigates the future of AI with a bold 'AI maximalism' mindset. He argues for a shift in leadership thinking from 'can we?' to 'why can't we?' Delving into the probabilistic nature of large language models, Craig discusses their successes and failures. He also explores the evolving roles in teams, the concept of disposable code for rapid prototyping, and the risks of shadow IT. His insights aim to empower organizations to thrive in an AI-driven landscape.

Anush Elangovan, VP of AI Software at AMD, shares insights on the transformative power of innovation speed in AI. He advocates for AMD's open-source ROCm strategy, emphasizing how collaboration fuels faster development compared to proprietary systems. Anush explores the balance needed for diverse user needs and reveals how real-world applications like automating mundane tasks represent the 'last mile' opportunity in AI. His vision for openness not only accelerates progress but also empowers developers to tackle complex challenges collectively.

Amit Patel, Director of Software Development for Kiro at AWS, delves into the transformative power of spec-driven development. He explains how this structured approach helps maintain context in complex AI projects, unlike traditional 'vibe coding.' Learn how Kiro was built rapidly through user feedback and iterative design, allowing teams to complete tasks in days instead of weeks. Amit also emphasizes the importance of balancing structure with flexibility, creating an accessible development environment, and using Kiro to enhance team collaboration.

Join Lake Dai, an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon and founder of Sancus Ventures, as she reveals how AI is reshaping leadership roles. She emphasizes the shift of engineering leaders into CFO-like positions, managing soaring compute costs that can take up to 50% of operating expenses. Lake highlights the urgent need for comprehensive AI governance and suggests innovative solutions, such as AI 'flight simulators' for training. Her insightful advice? Focus on the fundamentals to successfully navigate this fast-evolving landscape.

Loic Houssier, Head of Engineering at Superhuman, shares insights on cultivating AI adoption in skeptical engineering teams. He discusses using a respected internal champion to shift perspectives on AI tools. Highlights include surprising productivity boosts like faster ramp-ups and quick creation of internal tools. Loic emphasizes a bottom-up approach through an AI Guild and the importance of blending trust with simple metrics for measuring success. A fascinating real-world example showcases AI transforming a lengthy compliance task into a 90-minute task.

Matt Culver, a senior engineering leader at Super.com, discusses the transformative potential of AI beyond cost-cutting. He argues that viewing AI as a tool to enhance developer impact can foster a high-trust culture. Culver advocates for reinvesting efficiency gains into improving the entire product lifecycle rather than just boosting coding output. He emphasizes the importance of aligning AI initiatives with developers' core incentives, promoting a frictionless experience, and nurturing creativity to drive value in engineering.