AI Transforms Workflows, Learning, and Development Through Intent-Based Interfaces

Key Quotes

"I lead uh teams like developer relations our technical docs team our open source program office just anybody who's about how do we inspire and activate builders on google cloud how do you give people the confidence right there's a lot of information out there but how do you give them the confidence they can do it too so they can use cool open source stuff cloud services ai stuff I spend most of my day talking to customers working with my team uh going hands on I still code a decent amount I'm not good at it but enough to use the products that I don't think we should be talking about products we don't know how to use."

Richard Seroter explains his role at Google Cloud, emphasizing the importance of inspiring and enabling developers. He highlights his hands-on approach, including coding, to ensure he understands and can credibly discuss the products he works with. This demonstrates a commitment to practical knowledge and authentic advocacy for technology.

"I mean look on one hand I don't want to be one of these uh wacky AI influencer types who says everything's unbelievable everything changes with AI like look it's still hopefully good people using good tools you still need human thought you still need human creativity some of these things don't work because they advertise some things are better some things are worse it's all great these are tools these are ways we do better work now they're transformative tools for some teams and so for myself and we'll talk through some of these strategy things how I research how I learn how I build how I do some of my day to day things absolutely and look there's other areas where I am purposely staying low tech I write a daily newsletter and I write every word I don't want AI to do it for me I like I learn by writing I learn by doing that work and so I think all of us want to make sure we hold closely to those things we actually love doing and make sure that we're building depth not just sort of shallow knowledge because we've outsourced all our thinking to the AI so use this as a tool to augment yourself not replace yourself."

Richard Seroter cautions against overhyping AI, stressing that it remains a tool that requires human thought and creativity. He advocates for using AI to augment, not replace, human capabilities, citing his personal practice of writing his newsletter manually to deepen his own understanding. This perspective emphasizes the importance of maintaining core skills and avoiding a reliance on AI that leads to shallow knowledge.

"So what we're trying to do is almost reprogram ourselves and be like when I get a hard question what do I do first to me that's what AI first means AI first does not mean I use AI for everything it means that when a situation comes up I ask myself very help AI can do here no fine do your thing yes do it."

Richard Seroter defines "AI first" not as using AI for every task, but as a habit of first considering how AI can assist when faced with a challenge. He suggests reprogramming oneself to ask "what can AI do here?" before resorting to traditional methods. This approach frames AI integration as a conscious decision-making process rather than an automatic default.

"So I would say stop thinking of AI as a great way to get answers think of it as a way to get great questions and we don't use it that way but if you go to deep research and even to frankly Google AI mode go to Google com AI go to any of our AI tools and say I have this issue what questions should I be asking or what should I be thinking about."

Richard Seroter proposes a shift in how users interact with AI, suggesting they leverage it to generate insightful questions rather than solely seeking direct answers. He encourages using AI tools like Google's Deep Research to explore potential lines of inquiry for a given problem. This reframes AI as a catalyst for deeper critical thinking and exploration.

"I mean this is the world look if you're a builder now there are things that you do they think of it as a when I talk about the CLI that's really almost like working with a junior engineer cool you're you're collaborating you're hanging out at the same time you're both working in the same shift amazing when you work with things like Jewels you're actually working around the sun or you're working with an outsource agent or a partner and saying let me write a quality spec you'll hear the term spec driven development let's write a specification that's machine readable still natural language but maybe organized really effectively let me iterate on the spec with this background agent and then hand it off and I might go to lunch I might go home might have your cup of coffee and when it's done it gives me a pull request or gives me the changes going here's what I did check it out."

Richard Seroter distinguishes between different levels of AI collaboration, likening the Command Line Interface (CLI) to working with a junior engineer. He contrasts this with tools like Google Jewels, which he describes as working with an outsourced agent or partner that can handle tasks autonomously, such as developing a machine-readable specification and delivering completed work. This illustrates a spectrum of AI assistance, from direct collaboration to background task execution.

"I mean I think to some extent either AI is going to happen to you or you're going to happen to AI and I think you have to decide if you're going to lean in or not because this is all coming in some way shape or form if you want to be ahead of it and then being in control of it be smart about it understand the best ways to use it make it work for you I don't want to work for AI I want it to work for me but that requires me to lean into it then and understand how to use it well and stay up to date and listen to podcasts like this and lean in because you know what plenty of people won't and I think that you want to be on the side that's shaping how this industry is going to look and how work is going to look not just be subjected to what's going to happen to you."

Richard Seroter emphasizes the proactive role individuals must take in the face of AI's advancement, stating that one must either embrace AI or be passively affected by it. He urges listeners to "lean in," learn how to use AI effectively, and stay current to shape its impact rather than simply being subjected to it. This perspective highlights personal agency and the necessity of active engagement for professional relevance.