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World Congress 2025 • Aug 20, 2025 • Session details

Fireside Chat with Werner Vogels, VP & CTO, Amazon.com & Daniel Gebler, CTO at Picnic

Daniel Gebler , Mike Butcher , Werner Vogels

Werner Vogels claims AI won't replace engineers, but shifts their focus entirely to system design. Discover why embracing technical debt and AI-free days builds stronger, adaptable development teams.

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#1 about 4 min

Building architectures for evolving business capabilities

Software platforms must be constructed to support continuously changing feature sets as business operations expand and demand new services.

#2 about 3 min

Strategic use of technical debt for fast prototyping

Engineering teams optimize for speed by deliberately introducing technical debt into initial releases and aggressively refining the architecture in subsequent iterations.

#3 about 4 min

Human accountability in AI-assisted code generation

While generative AI excels at automating migrations and initial implementation, human engineers maintain absolute responsibility for system security and regulatory compliance.

#4 about 7 min

Redefining engineering roles and system design responsibilities

As AI pipelines automate syntax creation, junior developers focus on system design tasks earlier while senior engineers transition to managing intelligent agents.

#5 about 4 min

Deploying holistic AI strategies and preserving core skills

Organizations are adopting intelligent systems holistically across business units while introducing concepts like AI-free days to ensure developers maintain deep foundational competencies.

#6 about 4 min

Leveraging AI efficiencies to scale development output

Guided by Jevons paradox, integrating generative tooling inside development pipelines empowers teams to build more software features rather than simply diminishing headcount.

#7 about 4 min

Balancing technological experimentation with user experience

Innovating with foundational models requires careful management of deployment costs and customer reception to prevent overwhelming digital interfaces.

#8 about 3 min

Supporting culturally aware language models and secure platforms

The technology ecosystem will increasingly demand localized foundational models to prevent a digital divide alongside verified internal platforms designed for strict corporate compliance.

Matching moments

2:54 min

Designing complex software architecture in the era of AI

Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

3:33 min

Navigating developer bottlenecks and human accountability

Werner Vogels Werner Vogels +1 · World Congress 2026 Europe

49 sec

Navigating technical debt generation in the era of AI

Adam Tornhill · Coffee With Developers

3:55 min

Rethinking software engineering processes beyond human constraints

Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

5:30 min

Core engineering skills required in the era of AI

Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

3:45 min

Balancing AI tool mandates with developer trust and productivity

Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

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