<description>&lt;p&gt;AI can scaffold an app in seconds, but can it refactor that thousand-line React file when the first bug hits production?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode, I sit down with&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Brian Jenney&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;software engineer and program owner of the coding bootcamp&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Parsity&lt;/strong&gt;, to draw a hard line between “code that runs” and “code that lasts.” From mentoring career-switchers to stress-testing AI in real-world pipelines, Brian shares why craftsmanship and product judgment still beat copy-paste prompts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;🔗 Essential Links (Start Here!):&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Full Episodes:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Connect with Matt Watson on LinkedIn:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Subscribe to the Newsletter:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://newsletter.productdriven.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://newsletter.productdriven.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Powered by Full Scale:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://fullscale.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://fullscale.io/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;GET THE PRODUCT DRIVEN BOOK:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://productdriven.com/book" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://productdriven.com/book&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Connect with Brian on LinkedIn :&lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Check out Parsity&amp;nbsp;here:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.parsity.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.parsity.io/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Key Discussion Points:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;“You have to be smarter than the AI.”&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Why blindly shipping generated code is the fastest way to paint yourself into a technical-debt corner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The hidden risk of non-deterministic models—like failing a simple “greater-than” check in production tests&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A training rule of thumb: no AI for your first months of study, then use it only to&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;reinforce&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;fundamentals—not replace them&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The “house-of-cards” analogy for code quality and why maintainability still matters when AI writes the first draft&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How Parsity’s tight-knit model turns plumbers, teachers, and even doctors into disciplined, product-minded engineers&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Startup Hustle

Startup Hustle

Why We Still Need Software Engineers in the Age of AI with Brian Jenney

DEC 11, 202529 MIN
Startup Hustle

Why We Still Need Software Engineers in the Age of AI with Brian Jenney

DEC 11, 202529 MIN

Description

AI can scaffold an app in seconds, but can it refactor that thousand-line React file when the first bug hits production? In this episode, I sit down with Brian Jenney software engineer and program owner of the coding bootcamp Parsity, to draw a hard line between “code that runs” and “code that lasts.” From mentoring career-switchers to stress-testing AI in real-world pipelines, Brian shares why craftsmanship and product judgment still beat copy-paste prompts.🔗 Essential Links (Start Here!):Full Episodes: https://product-driven.captivate.fm/episodesConnect with Matt Watson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwatsonkc/Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://newsletter.productdriven.com/Powered by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io/GET THE PRODUCT DRIVEN BOOK: https://productdriven.com/bookConnect with Brian on LinkedIn :https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/Check out Parsity here: https://www.parsity.io/Key Discussion Points:“You have to be smarter than the AI.” Why blindly shipping generated code is the fastest way to paint yourself into a technical-debt cornerThe hidden risk of non-deterministic models—like failing a simple “greater-than” check in production testsA training rule of thumb: no AI for your first months of study, then use it only to reinforce fundamentals—not replace themThe “house-of-cards” analogy for code quality and why maintainability still matters when AI writes the first draftHow Parsity’s tight-knit model turns plumbers, teachers, and even doctors into disciplined, product-minded engineers