Brent Stewart

Brent Stewart

  • Wrote my first program at age 10 on a Commodore 64 (with 64K of RAM)
  • Founded multiple software businesses
  • Co-organizer of the Kansas City .NET User Group
  • Speaker at developer conferences across the country
  • Maker who loves solving real-world problems with robots

“The only constant is change.”

— Heraclitus, 500 BC

The first new level of abstraction in 65 years

1940
1960
1980
2000
2020
1940s
Machine code
10110000 01100001
1950s
Assembly
MOV AL, 61h
1957
High-level languages
letter = 'a'
2022
Natural language
"Add a login page to my app"

How fast it's happening

83%
of developers already use AI
In under 4 years since ChatGPT launched
24%
have employer-approved AI tools or guidance
Developers are moving faster than their companies

Source: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026

I stopped focusing on the how.
Now I focus on the what.

AI is in every step of how I build software

  1. Brainstorming
  2. Requirements
  3. Architecture
  4. UI/UX
  5. Code
  1. Unit tests
  2. Debugging
  3. Code review & security
  4. Source control
  5. Deployment

What I've learned the hard way

  1. It ignores instructions
  2. It goes down rabbit holes
  3. It guesses when you're vague
  4. It's confidently wrong
  5. It's only as good as its context
  6. It tells you what you want to hear

Do you use AI outside of coding?

If I were starting today

  1. Learn how good software is built
    Build something realStudy open source projectsIntern or work with a company
  2. Learn to communicate clearly
    Write the spec before you buildPractice directing AI and reviewing what it gives youExplain your work out loud
  3. Build your network
    Find a mentorGo to user groups and meetupsAttend conferences

Questions?

Stay in touch

Brent Stewart

brentstewart.net

linkedin.com/in/brentestewart

github.com/brentestewart

These slides: brentstewart.net/talks/ucm-practical-ai-2026