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Generative AI is not just disruptive—it’s "bigger than the internet". In this critical conversation, Joseph Marise, Tech Champion at Confluent, argues that the industry is rapidly dividing into two groups: those embracing AI and those who will be "smoked" by it.

We discuss the urgency for every professional to embrace being uncomfortable and constantly evolving. AI is coming to take away the "less interesting bits," freeing up humans to focus on their true superpowers: creativity, strategy, and holistic thinking.

In this episode, we cover:

• The radical speed of technological change, from the NES to modern cellular devices.
• How the AI workforce will change human resources, collaboration, and even hiring processes.
• A stunning hiring story where a candidate completed a four-hour project in two hours using AI, demonstrating a 100x productivity gain.
• The unique position of data streaming technologies (Kafka/Flink) in solving the "new data problem" created by the need for high-quality, real-time data for Gen AI agents.

Join us to understand why Gen AI is the most crucial pivot yet, and how you can position yourself to be the "overlord" guiding your AI "minions" toward strategic, creative output.

Table of contents for the episode:

01. Introduction: Humanity, Technology, and Joseph Marise

02. The Origin of the "Click" and Dopamine Reward

• 01:24 The NES and the gift of the first computer
• 01:57 Fixing Bloodnet by reading the MS-DOS manual and reconfiguring autoexc.bat
• 02:38 The desire for the "click" and the dopamine reward of problem-solving

03. Early Career and the Fascination with Networking

• 03:07 Accessing the internet through bulletin boards and gopher
• 03:27 Studying Information Systems and Technology to find more clicking moments
• 03:44 Starting with desktop support and evolving to server orientation

04. The Career Pivot Philosophy: When Comfort Signals Change

• 04:19 A career defined by pivots due to constant new technology
• 04:53 Moving from network engineering to SAN administration at Urban Outfitters
• 05:33 Recognizing the trend and pivoting to containerization and Docker

05. Finding the Superpower: Communication and Evangelization

• 05:55 The realization that being personable and explaining technology was a strength
• 06:41 First client-facing role as a Technical Account Manager at AWS
• 07:47 The biggest career "click": Technical Solutions Architecture at Confluent
• 08:14 Transitioning to Tech Champion: Evangelizing the "wrenches"

06. The Generative AI (Gen AI) Disruption and the Urgency to Pivot

• 10:41 The signal to look for a new role is hitting a level of comfort with no surprises
• 11:00 Knowing what to pivot toward: industry trends and personal interest
• 13:29 Seeing the parallel between virtualization (VMware) and containerization (Docker)
• 17:21 Gen AI is a crucial pivot, potentially bigger than the internet

07. The Two Types of People in the Age of AI

• 17:55 You are either embracing AI or getting "smoked" by people who are using it
• 18:43 The challenge of candidates faking expertise using Gen AI
• 20:12 A candidate completes a four-hour project in two hours using AI (100x productivity)

08. The True Role of AI: Freeing Human Superpowers

Sponsored by FINdustries
Hosted by Don Finley