More than Code
If you think AI is going to replace your job, you’re not paying attention. If you think it won’t affect your job, you’re not paying attention either. Generative AI is already transforming software development… and it’s coming for the part of your work that’s easiest to automate: writing code. But code was never your most valuable contribution.
In this session, Michael Carducci shows how to thrive by cultivating the skills AI can’t replicate: problem framing, architectural thinking, communication, context, and creativity. You’ll learn how to identify AI’s blind spots, leverage its strengths, and focus your energy where human judgment still matters most.
As software legend Venkat Subramaniam says, “Skill up, don't fear down.” This is your moment to stop worrying, start acting, and become indispensable. Your future is bright—if you're paying attention.
About Michael Carducci
Michael Carducci spent years learning to see things as they actually are; first as a magician, then as a software architect, now as both simultaneously. And somehow that’s not even the whole story.
He’s the author of Mastering Software Architecture (Apress, 2025) and is currently writing The Semantic Layer. He has spent over 25 years following interesting problems; through roles from individual contributor to CTO and back again, across industries and continents.
As a speaker, he applies the same toolkit he uses in close-up magic: attention, misdirection, timing, storytelling, and the instinct to take the long way around when that’s where the truth lives. Audiences at hundreds of conferences across four continents have described his talks as the kind that change how you think about a problem rather than just what you know about it.
He also makes YouTube videos about technology and curiosity with his wife Kate, because some ideas are too important (or too interesting!) to leave only in conference rooms.
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