While I intend to apply to speak, so I don't want to torpedo that opportunity, I think there is an assumption here that likely needs to be addressed: That AI in development is a good thing (and everyone agrees to that)
We have witnessed speakers booed off the stage at University commencement speeches for even suggesting AI is good. Many townships (Eagan, IGH, and even Minneapolis where this DevFest is hosted) have put in bans on Data Centers due to a growing anti-AI sentiment.
I'm seeing and hearing more and more detractors around me. The use of AI in coding (Generative) is generally positive, but with controls. But I also know of situations where LLM generated code gets you banned.
The use of AI in code (agentic) is not a foregone conclusion. Many systems and industries are quite fine with well maintained tightly controlled deterministic code. Suggesting agents in those situations is like calling a hotdish a 'casserole' at a Lutheran potluck - you're gonna get some looks.
If you are asking me, I would want to see:
- AI approaches that consider environmental impact (we here in L'etoile du Nord care very much about our waters)
- AI to help JUNIOR engineers up-level - ie. tools to teach, tools to explain, tools to create step by step guides, tools to create runbooks
- Mitigating token cost risk - how to code in such a way as one has options (e.g. I build systems that may use Gemini via Vertex, but they can just as easily swap back out to a self-hosted Gemma model, or other).
I really look forward to DevFests, I really really do (already queued to speak at one).
But I caution against AI-uber-alles as the seas are changing and we should be aware of that.
