Reqless: Software in the Age of AI
AI is changing how we build software—for the better, for the worse, and in ways to be determined. In this podcast, two surprisingly entertaining software veterans go piece by piece, exploring how change is coming: for industries, for individuals, and always with a focus on how to put things into perspective, then put them into action to move your career along. Say goodbye to the endless requirements phase, say hello to building software as-needed—it’s time to get REQLESS.
Show episodes
Can you actually build an app with AI right now? Fresh off a holiday break where he attempted to do just that (rather than talking to his family), Paul tells Rich what worked and what didn’t work in his experimentation: Where AI failed, where Paul got impatient, and how that mapped onto human programmers’ strengths and
Does the world actually need more software? In the first Reqless of 2025, Paul and Rich skip the “AI predictions for the coming year” and instead look at the tech landscape for smaller organizations. Do they really have the tools they need to get their work done? Featuring extensive corporate roleplay—including Paul’s
Farewell 2024—a boring year in which nothing really happened! On this week’s Reqless, Paul and Rich reflect on our current moment of widespread instability, from the cultural to the political to the technological, and discuss some of the ways they try to manage it (waffles!) (also building software). And because this i
Executives are all-in on AI, but many workers are not: A recent survey of white-collar employees conducted by Slack shows workplace AI adoption has slowed, even stalled, in recent months. On this week’s Reqless, Paul and Rich explore the various reasons Slack’s respondents gave for their reticence and what they suggest
This week the robots bring the pink slip…for Aboard’s CEO, Rich Ziade! On the latest episode of Reqless, Paul observes that much of Rich’s job at their old agency—listening to the client, reframing their needs, outlining a solution and a path to build it—could now be done, at least in part, by AI. What value can Rich—a
On this week’s Reqless, Paul and Rich receive a letter from a different Rich—a UX researcher interested in helping NGOs make the most of new AI tech. What should a UX researcher learn right now so they’re ready for what’s next? They discuss the things AI is particularly good at right now (translating artifacts!), and g
