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Aug 7, 2026

How to use Feedback to Build Better Software - Vicky Pirker

Vicky Pirker warns that treating colleagues like AI chatbots is destroying team empathy. Learn to overcome the IKEA bias and deliver feedback that actually builds better software.

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#1 about 4 min

Overcoming cognitive bias and cultural differences in feedback

Recognizing the psychological attachment developers have to their code prevents blunt criticism from causing emotional harm.

#2 about 6 min

Regulating emotions and translating technical issues for stakeholders

Pausing to manage neuroscience triggers allows developers to translate technical problems into business impacts effectively.

#3 about 6 min

Discovering project constraints through blameless problem solving

Asking about historical constraints and processes avoids finger-pointing and creates a safe space for collaborative debugging.

#4 about 6 min

Navigating the impact of generative AI on team empathy

The aggressive tone required to prompt large language models risks deteriorating polite and empathetic human communication.

#5 about 7 min

Balancing automated efficiency with genuine human connection

Relying solely on automated systems for customer service and communication can alienate users who require empathetic interactions.

#6 about 3 min

Engaging with developer communities to foster industry collaboration

Attending technical congresses breaks anti-social stereotypes and revitalizes developers through shared expertise and networking.

#7 about 3 min

Practicing repetition to build resilience against critical feedback

Repeatedly separating personal identity from the product trains the brain to process technical criticism without defensive emotional reactions.

Matching moments

1:31 min

Addressing developer burnout and the impact of artificial intelligence

Pauline Pagliaro Pauline Pagliaro · World Congress 2025

5:18 min

Addressing psychological safety and ethical risks of AI adoption

Vera Slavnić Vera Slavnić · Europe 2026 Virtual

1:47 min

Connecting empathy to technical resilience in software development

Malin Litwinski · World Congress 2022

3:50 min

Developing interpersonal skills for the future of AI collaboration

Daria Rudnik Daria Rudnik · Europe 2026 Virtual

2:20 min

Communicating software deviations with empathy to encourage positive improvement

Ingo Philipp · LIVE

2:05 min

Cultivating a learning-focused and empathetic engineering culture

Tom George · LIVE

Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 15:30–16:00

Mainstage

Our Brains in the AI Era

Cassidy Williams

Senior Director of Developer Advocacy, GitHub

Cassidy Williams
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Outdoor Stage

When Humans Stop Writing Code: Rethinking Languages, Compilers, and Responsibility

Simon Auer

Organizer of flutter vienna meetup and CEO of marqably

Simon Auer
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 15:30–16:00

Stage 4

Evals Are Infra: Building AI Systems Developers Can Actually Trust

Phoebe Wang

Member of Technical Staff at OpenAI

Phoebe Wang
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Stage 3

Sandboxing the Swarm: Building Secure, Serverless AI Agents with Wasm

Lena Hall, Thorsten Hans

Lena Hall
Thorsten Hans
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 14:50–15:20

Stage 6

Beyond the Vibe: Specs, Adversarial Review, and Engineering AI Development that Scales and Ships

Ussama Baggili

Principal, App Modernization & Development, Cloud Engineering & Data Analytics | Anthropic Alliance CTO

Ussama Baggili
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 14:50–15:20

Outdoor Stage

Your Brain Is Lying to You: Cognitive Biases in Development

Kate Astrid

Senior Product Engineer

Kate Astrid

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