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# WeAreDevelopers LIVE – Real-Time Phone Agents, Unsafe VPNs & More

Build a real-time AI phone agent in under 100 lines of TypeScript. Marios from Twilio reveals how to defeat voice latency using Conversation Relay and OpenAI.

- **Speakers:** [Chris Heilmann](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@chris-heilmann), [Daniel Cranney](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@daniel-cranney), [Marius Obert](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@marius-obert)
- **Event:** WeAreDevelopers LIVE
- **Published:** October 15, 2025
- **Duration:** 1:16:15
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1729-wearedevelopers-live-real-time-phone-agents-unsafe-vpns-more

## Summary

This episode of WeAreDevelopers LIVE blends software ecosystem updates with a deep dive into building real-time, low-latency AI communication tools. The hosts explore ongoing developer debates, examining the shift toward remote-first work setups enabled by on-demand co-working spaces and the persistent malware risks hidden inside free VPNs. The conversation also unpacks the broader implications of AI video generation and deepfakes on content creation, before touching on shifts in open source stewardship—highlighting the newly formed RubyGems Cooperative and the React Foundation.

The technical core of the session features Marios from Twilio, who demonstrates how to overcome the traditional hurdles of engineering voice AI. Building an interactive voice agent usually requires complex orchestration of speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and interruption detection, all of which introduce severe latency. Using Twilio's Conversation Relay, Marios abstracts these layers away, showcasing how to connect a phone call to a business application instantly.

By combining a Deno WebSocket server with the OpenAI streaming API, developers can process real-time voice inputs and stream LLM responses back dynamically. In fewer than 100 lines of TypeScript, the live demo illustrates how to construct a fully functional AI phone agent capable of handling asynchronous interruptions and delivering conversational responses without the jarring delays characteristic of early voice bots.

**Keywords:** twilio conversation relay, AI phone agents, real-time voice AI, deno websockets, OpenAI streaming API, remote-first work setups, free VPN malware risks, AI video deepfakes, open source stewardship, CSS light-dark function, javascript console development, low-latency speech recognition, LLM streaming configuration, twiml configuration

## Chapters

1. **Conference experiences and presenting with animals** (00:05) — The hosts discuss recent open source conferences and the unique challenges of presenting alongside animals.
1. **Remote work and co-working spaces for developers** (04:54) — How companies balance 100% remote structures with optional co-working spaces to foster team collaboration.
1. **Evaluating new decentralized social media protocols** (09:55) — A look at the complexities and user adoption challenges of new open web communication standards.
1. **Security risks of free VPNs and self-hosted alternatives** (12:30) — Why developers should avoid free VPN services and opt for inexpensive, self-hosted deployment options instead.
1. **AI video generation tools and content creation challenges** (14:45) — The implications of realistic AI video models and how platform algorithms impact human content creators.
1. **Open source project maintenance and farm sourcing** (23:22) — How large corporations hand off deprecated projects to open source foundations instead of maintaining them.
1. **Building retro console games using modern web technologies** (25:51) — New capabilities that allow developers to write games for classic gaming hardware using JavaScript.
1. **Using AI models to choose search destinations** (27:12) — Explaining agentic search queries where an AI automatically directs users to the most relevant webpage.
1. **Technical limitations of JSON for streaming data** (31:24) — Why the JSON data format struggles with streaming payload delivery in modern web applications.
1. **Minimal CSS resets and modern styling techniques** (32:02) — Implementing a minimal CSS reset and utilizing new functions for automatic light and dark modes.
1. **Voice dictation tools and operating system utilities** (33:54) — Reviewing private browser dictation fields and tools that allow developers to preview compressed files natively.
1. **Building real-time phone agents with minimal infrastructure** (37:43) — An introduction to developing conversational AI voice agents directly over a telephone line.
1. **Comparing input speeds of spoken versus written content** (39:56) — Analyzing the cognitive load and input speed differences between speaking to AI and typing instructions.
1. **Addressing latency and architecture in voice agents** (43:20) — Managing the complex infrastructure of speech recognition, text-to-speech, and language models for seamless phone interactions.
1. **Building a Deno server for Twilio integrations** (47:37) — Live coding a WebSocket server in Deno to handle incoming audio streams and Twilio configuration requests.
1. **Configuring a voice number inside the Twilio console** (56:00) — Purchasing a local phone number and routing incoming calls to a custom webhook address.
1. **Streaming text responses from an AI language model** (57:41) — Integrating OpenAI directly into the voice workflow to stream conversational text back to the caller.
1. **Testing the live phone agent and code recap** (65:21) — Calling the newly provisioned number to interact with the AI assistant and reviewing the project structure.
1. **Extending voice agents with TwiML and multiple languages** (67:33) — How XML configuration files dictate text-to-speech engine languages and aid in handling multilingual customer service calls.
1. **Exploring unconventional developer use cases and event wrap-up** (72:11) — Hearing fun ways the community has repurposed APIs for smart home life hacks before concluding the stream.

## Related Moments

- [Discussing open source availability and accessibility adaptiveness](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1159-speak-code-deploy-transforming-developer-experience-with-voice-commands) (from "Speak, Code, Deploy: Transforming Developer Experience with Voice Commands")
- [Summarizing developer experience and artificial intelligence companions](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/884-forget-developer-platforms-think-developer-productivity) (from "Forget Developer Platforms, Think Developer Productivity!")
- [Architecting a web real-time communication stack for agents](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1641-hello-jarvis-building-voice-interfaces-for-your-llms) (from "Hello JARVIS - Building Voice Interfaces for Your LLMS")
- [Voice AI architecture and interactive kiosk demo](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/10-raise-your-voice) (from "Raise your voice!")
- [Minimal infrastructure for real-time phone agents](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1736-minimal-infrastructure-for-real-time-phone-agents-transcripts-in-responses-out) (from "Minimal infrastructure for Real‑Time Phone Agents: transcripts in, responses out")
- [Building a WebSocket server with Deno](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1736-minimal-infrastructure-for-real-time-phone-agents-transcripts-in-responses-out) (from "Minimal infrastructure for Real‑Time Phone Agents: transcripts in, responses out")

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