In this closing panel from DX Annual, Rafe Colburn, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Etsy; Jesse Adametz, Senior Director of Engineering, Platform Engineering at Twilio; Eirini Kalliamvakou, Research Advisor at GitHub; Collin Green, Senior Staff UX Researcher at Google; and Brian Houck, Senior Principal Applied Scientist at Microsoft debate some of the biggest questions surrounding AI and engineering productivity.

They discuss whether AI will reduce the need for engineers, how AI is affecting technical debt, the future role of software engineers in an agentic world, and whether organizations should mandate AI adoption. They also explore how bottlenecks are shifting across the software development lifecycle, the challenges facing junior engineers, and why learning, culture, and change management may ultimately matter more than the tools themselves.

Where to find Rafe Colburn:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafeco

• Blog: https://rafe.codes

Where to find Eirini Kalliamvakou: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eirini-kalliamvakou-1016865

• X: https://x.com/irina_kAl

Where to find Brian Houck: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhouck

Where to find Jesse Adametz: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesseadametz 

• X: https://x.com/jesseadametz 

• Website: https://www.jesseadametz.com 

Where to find Collin Green: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin-green-97720378

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Intro

(01:16) Why an AI-first SDLC doesn’t mean fewer engineers 

(03:09) The debate over AI and technical debt

(07:40) AI-generated code and the future role of engineers

(14:16) Why mandating AI use doesn't necessarily lead to better outcomes

(20:43) Predictions for the future of junior engineers 

(23:22) Where the bottlenecks are in the SDLC now

(28:25) How risk influences AI use 

(32:38) Why the human side is the biggest AI adoption challenge

Referenced:

• Etsy

• GitHub

• Microsoft

• Twilio

• Google 

• Stewart Reichling

• What is the SPACE framework and when should you use it?