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WeAreDevelopers LIVE • Oct 28, 2026

WeAreDevelopers LIVE: Your Brain Is Lying to You: Cognitive Biases in Development

Kate Astrid , Christian Heilmann , Daniel Cranney

Kate Astrid reveals how hardwired cognitive biases secretly sabotage your code. Learn to debug your brain before sycophantic AI assistants amplify your worst development mistakes.

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#1 about 4 min

Maintaining an extensive developer blog and fixing broken links

Updating a massive static site reveals the high volume of dead services on the modern web.

#2 about 5 min

Navigating confusing developer job titles and consulting roles

Comparing specific IT job titles like forward deployed engineer against protected titles in other industries clarifies professional roles.

#3 about 3 min

Explaining developer roles to border control and non-technical people

The challenges of traveling internationally and communicating responsibilities highlight the ambiguity of modern engineering titles.

#4 about 5 min

Closing maker spaces and the accessibility of hardware hacking

The shutdown of corporate hardware labs contrasts with the growing ease of modifying consumer electronics.

#5 about 5 min

Evaluating new hardware form factors and feature bloat

Adding multiple features and foldable screens increases cognitive load rather than solving actual user problems.

#6 about 4 min

Addressing single points of failure in open source software

Relying on underfunded volunteer maintainers for critical web infrastructure creates massive security and stability vulnerabilities.

#7 about 2 min

Mitigating legal risks by training models on cached data

Shifting artificial intelligence training away from the live internet helps avoid copyright and intellectual property violations.

#8 about 3 min

Understanding the security risks of cracked and illegal software

Downloading unlicensed applications inevitably exposes personal computers to long-term vulnerabilities and malicious botnets.

#9 about 4 min

Analyzing token consumption discrepancies across different human languages

Generating responses in non-English languages consumes significantly more tokens and increases the financial cost of inference.

#10 about 3 min

Implementing artificial intelligence automation in the construction industry

Traditional architecture and construction firms remain hesitant about data security when adopting automated design platforms.

#11 about 5 min

Exploring experimental side projects and specialized developer tools

Building quirky applications like local wikis or domain name system language models highlights the value of experimentation.

#12 about 3 min

Creating social media preview images and niche developer networks

Generating proper metadata images ensures links unfurl correctly when sharing content across various social platforms.

#13 about 4 min

Utilizing native random functions within modern styling sheets

The introduction of randomness in layout styles enables natural variations without relying on external scripting logic.

#14 about 9 min

Differentiating real technology news from fabricated media headlines

Guessing whether obscure tech developments are true reveals the increasingly bizarre nature of the modern industry.

#15 about 5 min

Recognizing the sunk cost fallacy and survivorship bias

Developers frequently waste time on failing architectural decisions simply because they have already invested heavy effort.

#16 about 3 min

Counteracting confirmation bias and arbitrary estimation anchors

Applying the scientific method to software engineering prevents teams from making decisions based on arbitrary initial numbers.

#17 about 3 min

Preventing language models from reinforcing existing developer biases

Relying exclusively on enthusiastic artificial intelligence suggestions can blind engineers to fundamental flaws in their logic.

#18 about 6 min

Accepting personal shortcomings to overcome cognitive barriers

Acknowledging personal cognitive flaws without embarrassment prevents developers from making defensive technical decisions.

#19 about 8 min

Improving team collaboration by complementing individual developer weaknesses

Building diverse software engineering teams ensures that individual cognitive biases are balanced by different perspectives.

#20 about 4 min

Recommended literature for understanding rationality and cognitive limitations

Reading specialized fiction and scientific texts provides practical frameworks for recognizing and managing irrational thought patterns.

Matching moments

2:07 min

Mitigating hardwired cognitive biases in technical decision making

Alex Thurow Alex Thurow · Europe 2026 Virtual

5:18 min

Addressing psychological safety and ethical risks of AI adoption

Vera Slavnić Vera Slavnić · Europe 2026 Virtual

1:31 min

Addressing developer burnout and the impact of artificial intelligence

Pauline Pagliaro Pauline Pagliaro · World Congress 2025

6:29 min

Balancing AI enthusiasm with cynical engineering tool practices

3:14 min

Developing practical habits to counter cognitive biases

Kate Astrid Kate Astrid · World Congress 2026 North America

3:16 min

Cognitive bias and uncritical tech adoption in architecture

Hendrik Lösch Hendrik Lösch · World Congress 2025

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