You Don’t Have to Figure Out AI Development Alone

In August 2025, at a conference, a fellow developer and I were talking about the different ways we were using AI as a coding tool. I told him I’d played with it back in April 2025. Honestly, it felt somewhat useful, but it hadn’t stuck.

He told me, “Take another look.”

So I did.

The tools had leapt ahead. In the months that followed, I ended up rebuilding how I write software. Instead of simply being another tool, AI became a whole new way of developing software.

I started pairing with an AI agent on everyday tasks. That’s Step One, as defined by Boris Cherny’sSteps of AI Adoption: one human, one agent.

Now I’m moving toward Step Two: coordinating multiple agents across tasks—reviewing their work, steering them, and deciding what happens next.

From my conversations at the Atlanta Java Users Group, I’m seeing other developers make the same transition. Many of the developers I talk with are moving from Step Zero to Step One, from Step One to Step Two, and trading notes about what they’re learning along the way.

Meanwhile, a lot of managers are trying to figure out how to use AI within their teams. They’re also trying to discern the truth from the hype.

But we don’t have to navigate this transition alone.

Some of the best insights I get don’t come from reading, videos, or my own experimentation. They come from other developers: quick conversations, honest “what broke and what worked for me” stories, questions, answers, and sometimes disagreements.

My goal in these conversations is to learn and share—and sometimes debate. That kind of exchange accelerates how we learn.

The question is: Where can we have these conversations outside the companies we work for, especially if we’re trying to figure this out on our own?

I know this may sound old-fashioned, but I still think user groups and conferences are one of the best places to have these conversations.

We don’t just learn from speakers during their talks. We get the chance to talk with speakers and other attendees before and after the sessions. Many times, I find that the person I most want to talk with isn’t the speaker at all. It’s the person in the audience who asked the best question.

At the Atlanta Java Users Group and DevNexus, that’s the environment we want to cultivate: developers and leaders learning from each other.

Developers can share what they’re actually doing. Leaders can ask practical questions and get a clearer picture of what’s real, what’s working, and what’s still being figured out.

So, if you’re in the middle of this shift, come join the conversation.

We’ll learn faster. We’ll set better expectations. And we’ll build better software.

Most importantly, remember: you don’t have to figure this out alone.

 

<And of course I used AI to assist in writing this blog 😀>

–Glenn