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Will AI Replace My Job? A Town Hall for Software Developers
Fri, 25 April
Will AI replace my job? What happens to my role as a developer, architect, or engineering leader in the next 1–2 years — or 5–7? These are the questions we’re hearing from software professionals everywhere.
In this special closing session at GIDS 2025, join Venkat Subramaniam and a panel of industry voices (including Birgitta Boeckeler, Scott Davis and James Ward) for a candid, high-energy town hall on how AI is transforming the work of software teams, now and in the years to come.
We will explore:
- Which roles and tasks are changing fastest, and which are here to stay
- What developers and engineering leads can do to stay relevant
- How AI will reshape teams, workflows, and expectations
- And what a future-ready career might look like in the age of AI
You’ll hear fresh perspectives, bold predictions, and honest takes, with time for live audience Q&A. Real concerns from the community will also guide the discussion.
No slides. No sugar-coating. Just an open conversation about what’s coming, and how to get ready for it.
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About the speaker
Venkat Subramaniam
Founder, Agile Developer, Inc.
Dr. Venkat Subramaniam is an award-winning author, founder of Agile Developer, Inc., creator of agilelearner.com, and an instructional professor at the University of Houston
He has trained and mentored thousands of software developers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and is a regularly-invited speaker at several international conferences. Venkat helps his clients effectively apply and succeed with sustainable agile practices on their software projects.
Venkat is a (co)author of multiple technical books, including the 2007 Jolt Productivity award winning book Practices of an Agile Developer. You can find a list of his books at agiledeveloper.com. Find him on twitter at @venkat_s.
Birgitta Boeckeler
Global Lead for AI-assisted Software Delivery, ThoughtWorks
Birgitta works at Thoughtworks where she is currently the Global Lead for AI-assisted Software Delivery. She is a software developer, architect and technical leader with about 20 years of experience in technology. Her long career in software delivery consulting has given her the opportunity to see many organizations and teams succeed and fail at delivering valuable software.
James Ward
Principal Developer Advocate, AWS
James Ward is a professional software developer since 1997, with much of that time spent helping developers build software that doesn't suck. A Typed Pure Functional Programming zealot who often compromises on his ideals to just get stuff done. Currently a Developer Advocate for AWS.nerd / software developer who shares what he learns with others though presentations, blogs, demos, and code. After over two decades of professional programming, he is now a self-proclaimed Typed Pure Functional Programming zealot but often compromises on his ideals to just get stuff done. After spending too many sleepless nights in data centers repairing RAID arrays, he now prefers higher-level cloud abstractions with appropriate escape hatches. James is a huge Open Source proponent, hoping to never get burned by lock-in again.
Scott Davis
Web Architect and Digital Accessibility Advocate
Scott Davis is a Web Architect and Digital Accessibility Advocate, focusing on the multisensory aspects of web development. In a world where half of all Google searches are done by voice, and 80% of all social media videos are watched with the sound off and closed captions on, accessibility is a springboard for innovation.
