Thoughtworks Technology Podcast

With the rise of generative AI, the concept of the uncanny valley — where human resemblance unsettles, disturbs or disgusts — is more relevant than ever. But is it a problem that technologists need to tackle? Or does it offer an opportunity for greater thoughtfulness about the ways generative AI is being built, deployed and used?

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Lilly Ryan is joined by Srinivasan Raguraman to discuss generative AI's uncanny valley and explore how it might offer a model for thinking through our expectations about generative AI outputs and effects. Taking in everything from the experiences of end users to the mental models engineers bring to AI development, listen for a wide-ranging dive into the implications of the uncanny valley in our experience of generative AI today.

Read Srinivasan's recent article (written with Ken Mugrage): https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/10/24/1106110/reckoning-with-generative-ais-uncanny-valley/

A few years ago, Thoughtworker and (prolific) author Neal Ford published Fundamentals of Software Architecture with Mark Richards. They're now back with another book on software architecture — written with co-author Raju Gandhi — which offers readers a very different learning experience. Described as a combination of technical book and graphic novel, Head First Software Architecture dispenses with dense prose to present and explain software architecture concepts and ideas in some highly innovative and novel ways.

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, the authors — alongside their editor, Sarah Grey — join Rebecca Parsons to discuss their new book. They explain the thinking behind the approach, how it diverges from Fundamentals of Software Architecture and detail some of the challenges of writing in a new format.

Whether you're interested in getting started with software architecture or simply curious about technical communication and learning, listen to find out more.

Learn more about Head First Software Architecture: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/head-first-software/9781098134341/

Is it really possible to measure the impact engineering teams have on a business' success? At a time when growth is challenging for many organizations and questions about productivity and effectiveness dominate industry conversations, getting it right is crucial. And although the DORA metrics are today well-established and extremely useful is it really enough? Do they actually help us tie the work we do to tangible business results?

In attempting to answer these questions, a group of Thoughtworkers have developed what they call EEBO metrics. These are designed to measure engineering excellence to business outcomes.

To discuss EEBO metrics, hosts Prem Chandrasekaran and Scott Shaw (CTO, Thoughtworks APAC) are joined by Dinker Charak (Principal Product Strategist) and Sachin Dharmapurikar (Global Product Manager). Charak and Dharmapurikar helped to develop EEBO metrics; they believe it can be a valuable tool in aligning often complex engineering projects and activities with high-level business goals and objectives. Listen as they explain what EEBO metrics are (and aren't) and how businesses should think about using them.

Serverless received significant attention when it first emerged in the middle of the 2010s. And although it has now entered the mainstream and is today used in a diverse range of scenarios and architectures, it nevertheless remains a topic that causes considerable confusion and debate: where should we use it? How should we use it? Sometimes, what even is it, exactly?

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, Mike Mason and Prem Chandrasekaran are joined by former Thoughtworker Mike Roberts — author of "the canonical book on serverless," Programming AWS Lambda — to discuss the current state of serverless. They examine the ways that serverless is understood today and explore the impacts and challenges it has for both businesses and software developers.

• Read Mike Roberts' book Programming AWS Lambda: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/programming-aws-lambda/9781492041047/
• Read Mike's long-read on serverless on martinfowler.com: https://martinfowler.com/articles/serverless.html

Many of the scale-ups we’ve partnered with over the years will hit road bumps along the way. One common bottleneck we’ve seen are unexpected and dramatic rises in costs. In this episode we talk to members of our Digital Scale-up Studio, to hear their experience of gaining better visibility, improving operational efficiency at scale-ups, while the business maintains growth and gains greater knowledge of customer requirements.

Podcast hosts: Rebecca Parsons, Premanand Chandrasekaran,

Podcast guests: Stefania Stefansdottir, Sofia Tania