XO Ruby San Diego 2025 - Never Fear, Unicorns Are Here! by Sunjay Armstead

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Amazon One Medical, GitHub, Planning Center, Sanjay
2. 10:00 – 15:00: Planning Center

Notable quotes from "XO Ruby San Diego 2025 - Never Fear, Unicorns Are Here! by Sunjay Armstead"

• I wasn't going to do that, but I am now. Hi everybody. My name is Sanjay. I'm a UX engineer at Planning Center. what do you need to know about me? I love design. I love…

  about Planning Center · at 0:32

• For their shop owners, to edit their product images and supercharge their email campaigns. Then we have GitHub, another small Rails app which has its own growing suite of AI…

  about GitHub · at 2:03

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Sanjay — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:38
  I wasn't going to do that, but I am now. Hi everybody. My name is Sanjay. I'm a UX engineer at Planning Center. what do you need to know about me? I love design. I love…

Companies & orgs

• Planning Center — Company · 2 mentions · first at 0:38
• GitHub — Company · 1 mention · first at 2:07
• Amazon One Medical — Company · 1 mention · first at 2:15
  Another small Rails app which has its own growing suite of AI tools like Copilot. There's also Amazon One Medical's one life tool that uses AI to empower its doctors to focus on their patients rather than their paperwork.

Concepts & topics

• Rails — Concept · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:20 This has been a thing. I've been not introducing people when they come up to speak because usually the first thing that they do is introduce themselves.

0:32 I wasn't going to do that, but I am now. Hi everybody. My name is Sanjay. I'm a UX engineer at Planning Center. Um, what do you need to know about me? I love design. I love development and I love bananas. And you can see me later if you want to talk about that.

0:51 Bananas. Yeah, bananas. Don't you like bananas? Okay, good. Because we're we're still friends. That's good. All right. Cool. Cool. Okay. So, it's no secret that AI is having a moment. Uh, it's everywhere. Everyone's talking about it. We've got generative AI that helps you feel better about yourself. Uh, we've got robotic dogs you can play with. Uh, machine learning algorithms that can recognize human faces. Um but zooming out this AI moment that we're in is happening in the age of information. Uh researchers from MIT said in one article that in 2023 alone the median size of AI training data sets was 750 billion data points.

1:42 Now, of course, data's [snorts] always been around, but we're in an era now where data is constantly captured, uh, transformed, and employed in quite remarkable ways. So, for example, Shopify, you know, that small e-commerce rail shop, uh, they've developed ways to train their AI models to automate tasks for their shop owners, uh, to edit their product images and supercharge their email campaigns. Then we have GitHub, another small Rails app uh which has its own growing suite of AI tools like uh Copilot. There's also uh Amazon One Medical's one life tool that uses AI to empower its doctors to focus on their patients rather than their paperwork.

2:25 But if you're like me, you're probably feeling a bit nervous about how quickly our industry is transforming. Uh it's one thing to acknowledge that yes, we're in this era of uh data collection and transformation. Uh but I think it's a whole other thing to take a front row seat and watch how AI data tooling and approaches are evolving so rapidly. It can feel quite unnerving. Uh do you remember when chatbt uh released its first version in November of 2022? Uh I was working at a small software consultancy and our team went wild with excitement, right? So they our channels our Slack channels were littered with words that I'd never heard of. Things like lang chain and vector databases and uh LLMs like suffice to say I was feeling behind before all this even really began. And since then the evolutions have been non-stop.

3:22 Granted, AI didn't just appear out of thin air. uh it had been around rather quietly at times academically empowering our products behind the scenes but that shift that came in late 2022 was nonetheless striking. So the main question that I'd like to explore this morning is how do we thrive in this age of rapidly changing information? Now I believe to answer this question we need to build a mental model for the type of person that can thrive in this moment. the the type of person who can thrive in this age of rapidly changing information. So let's look at what those qualities are.

4:04 Well, first up, this type of person is nimble because change is inevitable. Remember AI has evolved in even just the last few years. We went from that novel chatbot that I mentioned called chat GBT to systems now where we can intelligently interact with multiple external APIs. And my prediction and this is not really a groundbreaking one at all is that AI will continue to evolve and it's in fact inevitable. If you look at the names themselves, machine learning, artificial intelligence, you see our systems will continue to learn even as we discover new applications and ethical limitations of those tools. So in order to thrive in this moment, uh a person must be agile enough to pivot, twist, uh maybe even turn around when necessary. Uh I believe Netflix is a great example of nimleness.

4:59 Uh, I remember watching Forest Gump or a movie like it on a DVD in a red and white package that we received in the mail. It was really amazing. Uh, we didn't even have to go to Blockbuster or that dingy creepy video rental store down the street. Uh, though I do have a special place in my heart for them. Uh, subscription-based mail orderer movies were a revolutionary idea. Yet, Netflix always had it in their plans to become what we now know is a streaming giant. But when they first started, the technology, even the words to describe their vision were simply not there yet.

5:35 But as technology changed, things like cloud computing, faster home internet speeds, so Netflix would change. And that scrappy startup of the late 90s went on to topple Blockbuster, though there's one more left. One more Blockbuster left. And uh they would dramatically change the landscape of movie entertainment as we know it. and and that's the power of nimleness. It's being able to spot the changes in terrain and having the courage to move when it's time. Uh next, a person who can thrive in this current moment is perceptive of the changing market. So, we have a a story in my family, maybe a myth, most likely a myth, uh about an uncle who was this big shot photographer. He worked for a big shot magazine and he would uh wear fresh suits and you know be picked up for work every day in a private car. His work was exceptional. He was doing really great.

6:31 Uh but then the market started to shift and we started to see um photography go from film to digital and this uncle refused to go ahead and make that transformation and move to digital. Uh he would eventually get fired. he lost all the fancy pants, you know, prestige and and all all the the value that he had because he failed to perceive where the market was headed. Now, on the flip side, we're all keenly familiar with the success stories of uh those who understood changes in market demand. Love them or hate them, Apple is a prime example of this. Uh they started as a personal computer company in the late 70s. They struggled pretty hard in the 90s. Um but then they started to understand their market. They started to understand and listen to their customer base and it took them a minute. Uh but Apple uh gave us the iPod and and that was just decades ago. And just this past month they streamed that beautiful

7:33 product update that many of us have seen. And I looked at the numbers and it was 3 million live raving fans. Uh that's a lot of people. So whether you're Apple or my one successful uncle, uh demand has shifted and it will shift again. So in order to thrive in this current moment, a person must be perceptive enough to see where the market is headed and be willing to risk a pivot if necessary. And finally, a person who can thrive in this moment is insatiably curious about the evolutions in front of them. You see, uh, this moment requires an inquisitive person. AI is a deeply complicated field of study, let alone all of its applications to specific domains. You know, things like medicine, education, and even nonprofits. And so, the one who rises to the top in this moment is the person who delights in learning lots of new things. They're not afraid of being wrong, and they're certainly not afraid of not knowing it

8:36 all. At the Athens Innovation Summit last month, uh, Lit Linda Rottenberg, CEO of Endeavor, asked an important question to Demisabus, who is the CEO of Google DeepMind. She asked, "What skills, tools, and knowledge should kids today, students today, lifelong learners be developing?" And uh, Demis' response was quite telling. He began by saying the only thing that we know for certain is that huge change is coming. So if you take that as a premise then we need to start thinking about what are the meta skills that you need to learn in addition to knowledge you need to have about mathematics and science and so on.

9:25 What about the meta-kills of learning to learn? One thing we'll know for sure is you're going to have to continually learn throughout your career. So for Demis, a leader at the bleeding edge of today's latest AI technology, learning to learn is a core skill that you can use to weather the massive disruptions that we're seeing in today's culture. So this is our mental model for the type of person that can thrive in this current moment. They're nimble, uh they're curious, and they're perceptive. But I kind of want to take a moment to step back and ask what have I just described. So uh author David Epste in his book range writes that our greatest strength is the exact opposite of narrow specialization is the ability to integrate broadly. It goes on to say everyone needs habits of mind to allow them to dance across disciplines.

10:25 You see what I've described as a nimble, perceptive, and curious person who, as David Epste would say, dances across disciplines. They are generalists. They're interdisciplinary. They see the bigger picture. I like to call them unicorns. But haven't I also just described each and every one of us in this room here today? You see, Rubists, especially Rails developers, we already wear lots of hats. In any given week, you're fine-tuning DevOps environments. You're talking with stakeholders about new features. Maybe you're building out user interfaces, no matter how much that might repulse you. Uh, and what's incredible about this group of developers here in Southern California on a Saturday of all days is that you already have what it takes to weather the disruptions of AI today as well as the technological innovations of tomorrow. You see, our scrappy little community here in San Diego and really

11:27 across America and the world, we already have this unicorn DNA. So, what I'd like to do now is turn our conversation like a mirror onto each one of us. And I I want to ask I want you to ask rather, how can I tap into my unicorn DNA? So, let's look at each pillar of that mental model that we just built together. So, what does it mean to be nimble? Well, a nimble athlete is light on their feet. They are quick to respond to changes in terrain. They can weave between obstacles. Someone who's nimble has an eye on the bigger picture.

12:10 They're not locked in on the goalpost alone. They see the whole field, including the hurdles and opponents waiting for them along the way. As an engineer, it's tempting to lock your uh eyes on your specialization. So maybe you skirt around making changes in the UI unless you absolutely have to. Um or maybe you call it quits uh when your front-end code is causing performance hits uh because obviously that's a backend problem. Uh but if you want to thrive in this current moment, uh you can't get fixated on just one facet of the game. As a unicorn, you need to see the whole field and be ready to respond as soon as things change. Uh, a great example of this is working on the front end of Rails apps. Uh, I currently work for a company called Planning Center.

13:01 We're just 45 minutes north of here in Carlsbad, make software for churches. It's a ton of fun. So, as a front-end engineer, I need to account on any given week for multiple application states. So, for example, I need to ask what happens in the UI when data is not present or if there's an error, does the user need to understand the subasses of those errors and what exactly are those errors? uh also I'm asking what happens when a user has full access to data or maybe they don't have any access to data. The implication here is that I even as a front-end engineer have access to all of these edge cases on my development machine. And trust me, these edge cases can be really difficult to replicate locally and being blocked is a regular possibility. But because I'm a unicorn, that's be because I am nimble enough to see the whole field. I've asked a lot of questions along the way in my career journey and

14:03 and I've taught myself how to manipulate the back end to my advantage. Uh as a unicorn, I'm not fixated on just my specialty. So yes, I run factorybot in the Rails console to get test data in my local environment. Uh I even read RSpec tests to better understand the behavior of our app. I've been known to also write my own RSpec test and my own service objects and all of this not because I'm trying to become a back-end engineer one day or that I'm trying to be someone that I'm not. Uh rather it's because I see the larger picture that front end fits into that I've learned to embrace the complexities of supporting fields in order to do my own job better.

14:47 So if you want to grow in nibleness, I encourage you to pick up tool outside of your comfort zone and get really good at it. You don't need to become an expert. Uh but you should embrace the discomfort to grow in your ability to pivot when necessary. Now if you're in front end like I am, you can dabble in SQL, maybe object-oriented programming, deployment pipelines. If you're in backend, maybe learn a little bit of design. maybe crack open Figma, uh, sketch a cartoon or inspect the DOM. The idea here is stretch your edges and nimleness is about stretching your [snorts] edges, uh, expanding your focus, expanding your gaze a lot broader.

15:36 Unicorns are also really good at smelling the rain before it comes. So, you can call it a instinct. Uh I like to call it a forecasting cognition because I like to be fancy. Uh but this is this ability to see something before it happens. It can be quite magical. Now the problem is this isn't Hogwarts as much as I'm not Manurva McGonagal can be like Snape sometimes. Uh so the question is how do we learn this magical skill of perception? Well, to perceive is to see uh to understand and in our case to make a prediction about the data that is collected. Just like with nimleness, a perceptive engineer has their senses wide open. Uh even with a clear goal in front of them, a unicorn spots patterns of change as well as evergreen principles. They're determined but not laser focused. They're ruthless in their pursuit of their aims, but they're not fixated. Uh before I start started in software engineering, I had this dream

16:41 to run my own marketing and brand agency, and I worked as a graphic designer for a number of years. I even got to design for some bigname clients. But in 2019 and 2020, I started to smell the rain. Uh not just the incoming doom of COVID, that was certainly there. Um but there was something else in the air. My clients kept asking me, "Hey, can you build a website for me?" Or, "Hey, can you build an online shop for my customers?" And like my uncle, I had a clear choice. I how would I respond to the changes in market demand. Now, since I'm here today, you can probably guess how I responded. I pivoted and that was because I saw and I perceived that the market was changing. I listened to my clients and I made a switch. And my encouragement to you is to be ready to do the same. So what are your clients, your employers, your bosses, what are they asking for? Uh what what hints have your leaders dropped about where your

17:40 company's headed? Uh smell the rain, watch the clouds, feel the changes in uh wind and temperature, make a shift if needed by learning a skill that is in demand or soon will be. Uh this is perception. And finally, unicorns are insatiably curious. Uh, if you want to thrive in this current moment, you must open your mind to new possibilities. Uh, one of my favorite analogies for this is a house with many windows. So, uh, imagine with me for a moment that inside this house is all of reality. So, when you look through a window, you may see a couch and an end table. But I look through a different window and I see a fireplace and a couch, but no end table. And still another person looks through a different window and they see an end table and a rug, but no couch or fireplace. The question that I'm asking immediately is, well, who's right? We all see the same reality, but it presents itself slightly

18:39 different to each of us. A unicorn understands that what they see in front of them is likely not all that there is. They ask lots of questions. They do a tour of the other windows and they interview lots of people. They're challenging their assumptions. They're considering the opposite more often than not. You see, as our market shifts due to the footprint of AI, it's easy for us to want to be glued to our window. We've always seen our specialty uh even our field as a whole in one way through our own window. But the curious person chooses to walk around the house and look through many more windows. So how can you develop this insatiable curiosity? Well, one way to do it uh is tinkering a lot outside your specialty, especially in the physical world. Uh some of the brightest minds I know uh often build unique connections and conclusions uh from their hobbies. So if you're only doing software engineering,

19:39 I encourage you to take up something else. get out of your context. Uh so why not take up whittling if that's your thing? Uh try a sport. Choose to do your auto repair this time uh yourself. Take lots of things apart. The idea here is to change your context. Get out of what you're currently doing and develop a a habit of being curious. Another way to develop your insatiable cur insatiable curiosity is to read books that you agree with but also very importantly disagree with. Uh you can also listen to technical podcasts that are above your current skill level. Uh I would say especially that are above your current skill level. You can also try new technology with a few side projects.

20:27 Whatever you do again uh my encouragement to you is to build a habit of curiosity. So don't shut down your wonder. Uh be open to discovery. So the market is shifting. Uh the AI reign is coming and in many ways it's already here. Uh the truth is though market shifts like what we're seeing and deviations like what we're experiencing now are going to happen again. So you know new novel technologies will pop up. Uh new versions of Rails will be released. uh cloud computing is going to transform again. Thanks DHH. Uh but by committing to being a unicorn, you're setting yourself up to weather the fluctuations in each and every season of this wonderful field we call software engineering. So as I close today, I want you to write something down. Uh so feel free to grab your phone. Uh you can take a picture of this slide or you can rumage in your bag and get a piece of paper. Grab your laptop. you won't

21:29 offend me. I want you to write this down and answer it as soon as we finish here today. What is one thing this week that I can do to learn a new tool, spot a new trend, or ask a new question? Again, that question is, what is one thing this week I can do to learn a new tool, spot a new trend, or ask a new question? I'll leave you with this. Your unicorn DNA is already waiting to be tapped. And by harnessing your nimleness, your perception, your curiosity, you can thrive in our current moment as well as future current uh moments. So take real steps today to empower your industry.

22:22 Thank you. Thank you, Sunday. Any uh any questions? Nico, what's your answer? What is one thing this week that I can do to learn a new tool, spot a new trend? I think um I think honestly preparing for this presentation is my answer to this.

23:02 Yes. That's into this week. Okay, that's true. To me, it looks like you've got a big old question right there that you've asked. That's a new question. I think that counts.

23:18 Hey, look at that. He's saving me. That's my question. No, but honestly, I mean, I try to I try to do this throughout my not just career, but week to week. I'm I'm constantly asking myself because, you know, we you know, again, you listen to podcasts and they're talking about a new technology or something and you feel behind. And so really what I'm doing is I'm I'm taking kind of a mental note and charting data in my head and saying like okay you know more people are talking about this technology less people are talking about this one and so really I do a lot of mental noting in my head um and you don't have to do that in your head only you can also make a trend journal if that if that helps. Um but it's really important to be perceptive of what's happening. Yeah that's a good question.

24:08 Thanks. Anything else? All right. How about a How about a big round of applause for Sunjay?

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "XO Ruby San Diego 2025 - Never Fear, Unicorns Are Here! by Sunjay Armstead"?

In order: 0:00 Amazon One Medical, GitHub, Planning Center, Sanjay; 10:00 Planning Center.

What is mentioned in this Confreaks episode?

5 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Planning Center, Sanjay, GitHub, Amazon One Medical, Rails. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "XO Ruby San Diego 2025 - Never Fear, Unicorns Are Here! by Sunjay Armstead"?

The episode runs 24 min; the transcript is about 3,748 words in 30 timestamped sections.

More from Confreaks

• All analyzed episodes
• Books mentioned on Confreaks
• People mentioned on Confreaks
• Topics mentioned on Confreaks