Jul 11, 2026

From Writing Code to Designing Systems: How the Developer Role is Changing — Chris Noring, Microsoft

This talk introduces a paradigm shift in software development, moving developers from pure code producers to system designers and agent orchestrators. It details a new workflow leveraging GitHub Copilot CLI, custom Copilot agents, and explicit guardrails like `agents.md` and skills. The focus is on how to decompose complex problems, delegate implementation to AI, and encode architectural standards and constraints directly, enabling higher consistency, quality, and accelerated delivery through a "human-in-the-loop" delegation model.

Jul 10, 2026

Should AI Engineers Still Read Code in 2026? The Z/L Continuum — Alex Volkov, ThursdAI

Alex Volkov introduces the "Z/L Continuum," a framework for navigating the tension between rapid AI-generated code production and the critical need for human review. He argues that the key lies in understanding that the continuum applies to tasks, not individuals, and presents a pragmatic routing table for verifying changes based on their criticality, highlighting the shift towards engineering systems that build and verify code, rather than meticulously inspecting every line. The talk also touches on emerging capabilities like Fable and "loops" and the importance of flexibility and human judgment in the evolving AI engineering landscape.

Jun 30, 2026

Plenary Talk 3​: Challenges and research opportunities for global hyperscale services

Jim Kleewein's talk outlines the immense challenges and critical research opportunities in building and operating global hyperscale services like Microsoft 365 and Azure. He emphasizes that at this scale, traditional approaches fail, necessitating a "new golden age of applied research" across areas like continuous availability, data management, security, and sustainability. Kleewein also discusses AI's powerful but limited role, stressing the ongoing need for human expertise, and highlights the ethical imperative to prevent failures that can have life-or-death consequences.

Jun 28, 2026

Research to Reality: Bringing Frontier ML Research to Production - Vaidas Razgaitis, Higharc

Vaidas Razgaitis, Senior Research Engineer at Higharc, shares three tactical tips to accelerate the transition of novel AI/ML research into production-ready features. He emphasizes addressing the critical handoff challenge between ML researchers and software engineers through structured documentation (Research Prototype Taxonomy Document), a well-organized monorepo utilizing decoupled microservices, and a systematic approach to code decomposition and PR review. These strategies aim to improve legibility, maintainability, and delivery speed for ML-driven products.

Jun 25, 2026

Full Stack Greenfield Projects : Are they still relevant?

Bharat Goenka, co-founder of Tally, discusses the company's unconventional approach to software development through "Full Stack Greenfield" projects. He explains why building every component from scratch, despite being a high-risk strategy, has been crucial for Tally's success in serving the SMB market, fostering extreme customer loyalty, and aspiring to connect 200 million businesses. The talk delves into the historical context, the philosophy of questioning and choosing constraints, and the distinction between product and custom engineering.

Jun 17, 2026

Growing & Thriving in a Multi-model World • Alberto Brandolini • GOTO 2025

Alberto Brandolini delivers a compelling talk on how to combat software model decay and avoid the "Big Ball of Mud" by strategically applying Domain-Driven Design principles, especially Bounded Contexts. He emphasizes the critical role of visual thinking, structured architectural discussions, and organizational habits in maintaining clean, evolvable systems, particularly when scaling across teams and international markets. The talk highlights the need for continuous design effort, disciplined decision-making, and proactive identification of model boundaries to build resilient software in complex socio-technical landscapes.