Links

Things I've read or watched and found worth sending to my team. The original is linked out, with my note attached. Reverse-chronological by when I wrote the note.

No More Code Reviews: Lights-Out Codebases Ahead

Originally published 2026-03-06 · by Philip Su
Noted by Dave on May 25, 2026 · ai, engineering

The two important observations here — that human code actually contains far more bugs than you realize, and that AI is superior to humans at code review itself — I anecdotally find to be true in my personal experience and in the experience of colleagues. Many in my network are still really against this entire idea, and while I empathize with aspects of the code-as-craft disappearing, I find it impossible to side with the anti-AI crowd now. They don’t look informed anymore. They look out of touch. And scared. Not a good look, and not a good way to think about your career going forward.

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Choose Boring Technology

Originally published 2015 · by Dan McKinley
Noted by Dave on May 24, 2026 · engineering, decision-making

I wrote a reaction essay about this in 2018 and the position has aged well. The hardest version of “choose boring” is when you are the boring choice — when the right move is to keep using what your team already knows instead of what’s interesting to you personally. The friction this generates inside engineering orgs is real, and it doesn’t get easier with seniority. McKinley’s “innovation tokens” framing is the part I still find myself reaching for years later.

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What's the Point of Managers?

Originally published 2026-03-06 · by Hilary Gridley
Noted by Dave on May 24, 2026 · management, leadership, ai

I’ve spent a fair bit of time thinking about which software laws are “real” and thus still applicable in the age of AI. I haven’t spent a ton of time thinking through the analogous topic for management. This post does a good job of outlining the small number of really important things that general managers do that AI won’t immediately make obsolete.

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