Veteran Rubyist and investor Chad Fowler sits down with hosts Valentino Stoll and Joe Leo to unpack why generative AI is less a magic trick and more the next big layer of abstraction. From his days rewriting Wunderlist in multiple languages to today’s LLM-driven code generation, Chad explains how small, well-typed modules, strong conventions and agent-based workflows could let humans design systems while machines write the code. The trio debate Python vs. Ruby, micro-services vs. monoliths, cognitive load, runtime performance (hello Haskell & Rust) and what it will take for legacy Rails apps—and our careers—to thrive in an AI-first future.
Mentioned In the Show:
- MountainWest Ruby Conference — Early Ruby conference where Chad delivered a keynote in 2007 about the future of Ruby.
- TLA+ — Formal specification language for verifying distributed systems, discussed in relation to formal verification.
- Quint Language — Open-source formal specification language resembling Ruby/JavaScript.
- OWL (Web Ontology Language) — Semantic Web language for defining ontologies, cited as inspiration for constraints.
- Extreme Programming Immersion (Object Mentor) — XP training course Chad attended, pairing with Kent Beck.
- Immutable Infrastructure — Concept Chad advocated, paired with his idea of "disposable code."
- Snyk — Security company that auto-generates PRs for dependency and vulnerability fixes, discussed as a precursor to agent workflows.
- Specification-Driven Development — You described industry momentum toward specification-driven code assistants.
- Claude on Rails — Obie's exploration of using Anthropic's Claude with Ruby on Rails.
- ESP32 Dev Kit — IoT hardware Chad experimented with, used in AI-assisted electronics projects.
- 3D Printing with ChatGPT — General reference to AI-assisted 3D design and printing workflows.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com