Speaker: Nick Nisi
Talk Summary
At a developer conference in New York, I discovered something unexpected. The leading developers weren't just experimenting with AI, they were truly collaborating with it. This was my turning point. I'd been hiding my own AI usage, afraid it would expose me as the impostor I always feared I was. But that fear transformed into curiosity: could embracing AI actually make me a better developer?
What followed was a journey of professional reinvention. Instead of seeing AI as a threat or a crutch, I learned to treat different AI models as members of my development team, each with their own strengths and working styles. This mindset shift helped me grow from a developer comfortable in two languages to someone confidently working across seven, guiding AI collaborators rather than fighting my tools or feeling guilty about using them.
This new approach to professional growth helped me tackle challenges I never thought possible. When tasked with creating a Laravel starter kit, despite minimal PHP experience, I drew on my AI collaboration techniques to produce work that earned approval from Laravel's creator himself. The key wasn't just using AI tools - it was learning to orchestrate discussions, maintain context, and most importantly, stay in control of the development process.
Attendees will learn:
- How to overcome impostor syndrome around AI usage in development
- Techniques for growing your capabilities by treating AI as team members
- Strategies for maintaining agency and understanding while leveraging AI
- Methods for expanding your technical range through thoughtful AI collaboration
Because ultimately, this isn't about AI replacing developers. It's about growing as a developer by thoughtfully embracing new ways of working.
