Has AI finally met its moment of truth? This week, James sits down with Jim Spignardo, Director of Cloud Strategy & AI Enablement at ProArch, to explore how enterprises are moving from curiosity to competence with AI. They talk data, security, productivity, and the shift from "let's try AI" to "let's solve real problems with it."

What if AI could hear what doctors can't? This week James welcomes, Dr. Morris Nguyen, founder and CEO of Predicate, to explore how AI is transforming healthcare by combining patient voice and vital signs to detect critical illness early. Morris shares his journey from critical care physician to tech founder, what it takes to bridge medicine and machine learning, and why empathy may be AI's most powerful feature. Together, they unpack what it means to build predictive, equitable healthcare technology, and the surprising challenges of scaling real-world innovation.

Is platform engineering the missing link in real AI adoption? This week, we welcome Matan Grady, lead AI PM at Port, to unpack why platform engineering is the control plane for AI adoption. We cover the move from chat UIs to agentic workflows, what it takes to trust AI in production (secrets, permissions, guardrails, human-in-the-loop), and how MCP servers connect agents to calendars, docs, and code. Matan explains why AI evals should measure outcomes—not outputs—and shares a real win: turning a manual changelog into an AI agent PMs simply review. Its a pragmatic look at developer portals, coding agents, and the evolving role of engineers as orchestrators who architect, observe, and ship faster.

Is AI making product design smarter—or just noisier? This week, James talks with Erica Price, product experience leader, about how AI is reshaping UX, product design, and job dynamics. From ADHD hyper-focus as a superpower to the limits of chat interfaces, Erica shares practical insights on using AI as a tool—not a replacement—in the future of design.

What does it really take to run AI at scale? In this episode, cloud architect James McShane joins James to explore how Kubernetes became the backbone of modern tech, why the cloud isn't always the cheapest answer, and what most people miss about keeping AI systems healthy after launch. From GPU scarcity to "vibe coding" gone wrong, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the choices shaping the future of software.

Is AI making developers more productive... or just making us feel that way? Adam Barrett joins James this week to cut through the vibe coding hype. They dig into why requirements and context still matter, how React became the LLM default, and what zero-dependency coding could mean for security. From junior talent to quantum risks, this episode challenges how we think about building software in the AI era.

Can AI really replace junior software engineers? Jason Pedone, CTO at Aspida and former SVP at Truist, joins James Carman to tackle one of the most debated questions in tech today. They explore why cutting early-career talent puts your entire pipeline at risk, how AI can boost productivity without killing creativity, and what happens when companies chase short-term savings over long-term engineering strength.

What does it take to modernize a 165-year-old bank? This week, James talks with Jude Schramm, EVP & CIO at Fifth Third Bank, about leading digital transformation in a highly regulated industry. From scaling agile across 200+ teams to rethinking core systems and adopting AI, Jude shares how he's helping one of America's largest banks move faster while keeping customer trust at the center.

What happens when anyone can build software...but no one checks the code? Bruno Borges, Principal PM Manager at Microsoft, joins The Forward Slash to unpack how AI is reshaping software development—from prototyping to architecture—and the hidden risks of skipping the fundamentals. We also dive into Microsoft's surprising evolution into a Java powerhouse, the rise of prompt-driven development, and why real engineering expertise still matters more than ever.

What happens when crypto collides with real-world regulation? In this episode, we unpack how stablecoins work, why they matter, and how they're poised to disrupt everything from cross-border payments to brand loyalty programs. We also explore what developers and businesses should be thinking about as the lines between traditional finance and DeFi continue to blur.

Everyone's talking about AI, but are you overlooking the real driver of developer productivity? On this episode of The Forward Slash, Dillon Courts, Callibrity's Director of Platform Engineering, shares what he's learned about building high-performing platforms, the real limits of the "everyone does everything" DevOps model, and why self-service tools are changing the game for software teams. He also explains why leaders who focus on eliminating inefficiency are pulling ahead of those who just follow tech trends.

Most people think of budgeting as restrictive, tedious, or something they'll "get around to." But what if it didn't have to be that way? In this episode, we explore how technology, AI, and a little human coaching are reshaping not only how we manage money—but how modern platforms are blending automation with personal connection to drive real, lasting change. From building better financial habits to scaling a startup, it all comes down to aligning your tools—and your spending—with what matters most.

How did coding go from something niche and isolating to one of the most valuable skills in the modern workforce? In this episode of Forward Slash, we look at how the role of the developer has evolved—from outsider status to essential strategist. Drawing on decades of experience, Mark Stahl shares how the culture around coding has changed, and why understanding systems, context, and collaboration now matters more than syntax. We also explore the often-overlooked power of clear requirements—how they bridge the gap between business needs and code, and why they'll matter even more in an AI-driven future.

How do you build user-centered digital products in a world obsessed with trends and AI hype? In this episode, UX researcher and digital psychologist Dr. Nick Fine joins James to share expert insights on human-centered design, behavioral science, and the real meaning of user experience. Learn how to apply UX research methods that drive product success, avoid common pitfalls in agile teams, and use AI tools without sacrificing product integrity.

Wrangling APIs? Dreaming about AI agents that actually get your specs? This episode delivers. We chat with Dave Shanley (aka quobix)—a musician-turned-engineer with a sci-fi streak—about cutting through the noise of OpenAPI standards, building tools developers actually want to use, and how to stay grounded while navigating the fast-moving world of agentic AI.

Curious how AI can turn messy, unstructured data into something actually useful? This episode, we dive into a real-world project that explores just that. Senior developer Azriel Alvarado shares how building a song recommendation tool based on lyrics led to deeper insights into embeddings, vector search, and working with natural language data. Whether you're in search, content tagging, knowledge management, or building smarter user interfaces—this episode is packed with takeaways for applying AI in meaningful. ways.

What separates teams that build features from those that solve problems? Ryan Donnelly, product leader and proud Callibrity alum, shares how his engineering roots shaped his approach to driving impact at scale. He unpacks the mindset behind modernizing in-house payments, building with empathy, and leading through storytelling. If you're navigating tech, product, or leadership—this one's for you.

Can you build a working AI chatbot without any prior AI knowledge? Rachel did—and here's how. In this episode, senior software developer, Rachel Clifton joins James to share how she tackled her very first AI project—building a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) chatbot from scratch. Rachel breaks down the beginner-friendly tools that made it possible, including Spring AI, Apache Tika, and PGVector, and opens up about the challenges of chunking, hallucinations, and missing metadata. If you've been curious about AI but don't know where to start, this episode is a practical, encouraging place to begin.

What do toddlers learning to walk and robots learning to cook soup have in common? In this episode, data scientist Steven Nord joins James to explore the fundamentals of reinforcement learning (RL)—a key concept in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)—and its real-world applications in predictive maintenance, automation, robotics, and AI-powered systems. They explain the differences between supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning, and how models like ChatGPT use Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) to improve performance and accuracy.

Can your software handle failure—or write its own test code? In this episode, we dive into temporal workflows, agentic AI, and no-code automation tools like N8N to explore how developers can build resilient, scalable applications faster. Learn how to navigate unreliable APIs, implement AI-powered code generation, and prototype with no-code platforms to supercharge your software development process.