The InfoQ Podcast

In this episode, Chris Swan, engineer at Atsign and security track host at QCon London, reflects on the ideas shared during QCon London 2026 and teases topics of the future edition. The discussion explores how security engineering is shifting from relying on human vigilance toward automated, system-level defences across the entire application stack. As well as the importance of governance and supply chain security in a world that sees rapid shifts toward machine-to-machine interaction.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/3Vg15sV

Newsletter:
Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work:
https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter

InfoQ Online Certification Programs:
5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more:
https://certification.qconferences.com/

Upcoming Events:
QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026)
https://qconsf.com/

QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027)
https://qconlondon.com/

The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
The InfoQ Podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/
Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/

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Write for InfoQ:
Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ.
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In this podcast, Michael Stiefel spoke to Erin Doyle about how artificial intelligence tools are transforming the software development process, and how they are affecting software engineers. Architecture skills are now critical because engineers need to understand how to build systems and handle the constraints and associated ambiguity in the requirements. At the same time, given the rapid change both in the nature of the AI tools, and the amount of code they can produce which can overwhelm developers, psychological safety becomes essential for successful AI adoption. Teams need a secure, non-judgmental environment to share their successes, admit failures, ask for help, and express skepticism.

Industry lacks a plan to train junior engineers because AI is taking over the tasks they were traditionally trained on, and university education is not adequate preparation for this new reality. The conversation concluded by discussing how software developers and organizations must retain complete ownership and assume full liability for the output generated by AI tools. To manage this, there is an urgent need to develop advanced verification and telemetry tools that can support the review process.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/4yNWi05

Newsletter:
Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work:
https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter

InfoQ Online Certification Programs:
5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more:
https://certification.qconferences.com/

Upcoming Events:
QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026)
https://qconsf.com/

QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027)
https://qconlondon.com/

The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
The InfoQ Podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/
Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/

Follow InfoQ:
Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq
X: https://x.com/InfoQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com

Write for InfoQ:
Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ.
https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

In this episode, a panel of AI experts, Meryem Arik (DoubleWord), Clara Higuera Cabañes (BBVA), and Jeff Smith (C Proof), demystify the current state of AI in the enterprise. The discussion navigates the "industrial revolution" moment in AI adoption, exploring why companies are rushing toward these technologies to maintain competitive advantages while grappling with reliability, ethical considerations, and the evolving role of software engineering.

The conversation highlights the growing tension between proprietary models like Claude and the rise of high-quality open-source alternatives. The guests delve into the technical debt of "generative code," the shift from deterministic to non-deterministic programming, and the critical need for sovereignty over the software supply chain. From local LLM usage to the next wave of "structuralist AI," this episode provides a roadmap for businesses and developers looking to navigate the complex AI landscape.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/3SCS4ZZ

Newsletter:
Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work:
https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter

InfoQ Online Certification Programs:
5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more:
https://certification.qconferences.com/

Upcoming Events:
QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026)
https://qconsf.com/

QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027)
https://qconlondon.com/

The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
The InfoQ Podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/
Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/

Follow InfoQ:
Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq
X: https://x.com/InfoQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com

Write for InfoQ:
Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ.
https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

In this episode, Sahil Agarwal talks about the critical challenges of identity, authorisation, and security in the age of AI agents. Sahil introduces the DPACT framework (Delegation, Policy, Auditability, Context, and Time) as a blueprint for building responsible, guardrailed agentic systems, moving away from simple token-based access toward bounded, delegated authority.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/3VuM8TJ

Newsletter:
Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work:
www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter

InfoQ Online Certification Programs:
5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more:
certification.qconferences.com/

Upcoming Events:
QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026)
qconsf.com/

QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027)
qconlondon.com/

The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
The InfoQ Podcast: www.infoq.com/podcasts/
Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
Generally AI: www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/

Follow InfoQ:
Mastodon: techhub.social/@infoq
X: x.com/InfoQ
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom
Instagram: www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/infoq
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/infoq.com

Write for InfoQ:
Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ.
www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

In this podcast Michael Stiefel spoke to Scott Hanselman about developing new software engineers when artificial intelligence agents are doing most of the work on which junior developers were trained. Hanselman suggests the software industry should adopt a preceptorship model similar to the nursing profession. Under this model, the industry needs preceptors whose sole job is to train new engineers, and these preceptors would be evaluated on how well they train people rather than how much code they ship. The use of AI agents requires experienced engineers because while they are capable of generating software features, they perform poorly at software architecture because they often miss the larger context. In addition, engineers must maintain oversight of artificial intelligence tools by acting as reviewers and coordinators to ensure that human judgment remains central to the development process.

The conversation then broadened to discuss the environment in which agentic AI should be used. When businesses prioritize short term, hyper-optimization, they neglect the longer term investments in human capital and mentorship which will make it impossible to cultivate future senior talent. Beyond that, Hanselman addressed the sociological impacts of modern development, observing that the intersection of remote work, social media, and artificial intelligence severely isolates developers. To counter this isolation and ensure healthy growth, intentional human connection and in-person interactions are vital for the next generation of users and developers of technology.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/4ydBK0H

Newsletter:
Subscribe to the Software Architects' Newsletter, a monthly roundup of the patterns and technologies senior practitioners are working through, with the news and lessons from people doing the work:
https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter

InfoQ Online Certification Programs:
5-week online cohorts for senior engineers and architects, built around QCon talks. Programs now cover software architecture, AI engineering, and organizational architecture. Each week you join a four-hour live session with a confidential peer group of practitioners from other companies, apply frameworks from QCon talks to the decisions you're making at work, and earn an InfoQ certification. You leave with new approaches, or confirmation that the calls you're already making are the right ones. Learn more:
https://certification.qconferences.com/

Upcoming Events:
QCon San Francisco 2026 (November 16-20, 2026)
https://qconsf.com/

QCon London 2027 (April 13-16, 2027)
https://qconlondon.com/

The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly conversations with senior software leaders about how they build systems and teams, including what they'd do differently. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
The InfoQ Podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/
Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/

Follow InfoQ:
Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq
X: https://x.com/InfoQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com

Write for InfoQ:
Share what you've learned building software with a community of senior practitioners, and get your work in front of the people who read InfoQ.
https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq