Posts Tagged ‘Voxxed’
[Voxxed Amsterdam 2025] How to Survive as a Developer in the Exponential Age of AI
In a dynamic and fast-paced session at VoxxedDaysAmsterdam2025, Sander Hoogendoorn, CTO at iBOOD.com, explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on software development. With over four decades of coding experience, Hoogendoorn demystifies the hype around AI, examining its practical benefits, challenges, and implications for developers. Far from signaling the end of programming careers, he argues that AI empowers developers to tackle broader and more complex problems—provided they adapt and remain committed to quality and lifelong learning.
AI: A Developer’s Ally
Hoogendoorn clarifies AI’s role in development, highlighting tools like Cursor AI, which can extract components, fix linting issues, and generate unit tests using natural language prompts. He recounts an experience where his non-technical colleague Elmo built an iOS app with Cursor AI, illustrating AI’s democratizing potential. However, Sander warns that such tools require supervision to ensure code quality and compliance with project standards. AI’s ability to automate repetitive tasks—such as refactoring or test generation—frees developers to focus on complex problem-solving. At iBOOD, AI has enabled the team to create content with a unique tone, retrieve competitor pricing, and automate invoice recognition—tasks that previously required external expertise or significant manual effort.
Navigating Technical Debt in the AI Era
The rise of AI-assisted development—especially “vibe coding,” where problems are described in natural language to generate code—introduces new forms of technical debt. Hoogendoorn references Ward Cunningham’s metaphor of technical debt as a loan that accelerates development but demands repayment through refactoring. AI-generated code, while fast to produce, often lacks context or long-term maintainability. For instance, Cursor AI struggled to integrate with iBOOD’s custom markdown components, resulting in complex solutions that required manual fixes. Research suggests that AI can amplify technical debt if used without rigorous validation, emphasizing the need for developers to stay vigilant and prioritize code quality over short-term gains.
Thriving in an AI-Centric Future
Far from replacing developers, Sander Hoogendoorn asserts that AI enhances their capabilities, enabling them to tackle ambitious challenges. He reminds us that developers are not mere typists—they are problem-solvers who think critically and collaborate to meet business needs. Historical shifts, from COBOL to cloud computing, have always empowered developers to solve bigger problems, and AI is no exception. By thoughtfully experimenting with AI—integrating it into workflows for content creation, price retrieval, or invoice processing—Sander’s team at iBOOD has unlocked previously unreachable efficiencies. The key to thriving, he says, lies in relentless learning and a willingness to adapt, ensuring that developers remain indispensable in an AI-driven world.
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Hashtags: #AI #SoftwareDevelopment #TechnicalDebt #CursorAI #iBOOD #SanderHoogendoorn #VoxxedDaysAmsterdam2025