1. AI is powerful, but imperfect
AI adoption among engineering teams has exploded, with 90% of developers now using AI tools—up from 61% just a year prior. Productivity gains are real (25–100% faster coding), but so are hidden costs. A recent study found senior developers using tools like Cursor became 19% slower on complex tasks due to prompt tuning, debugging, and reviewing AI output—despite believing they were more productive overall (Business Insider).
2. Technical debt: accelerated, not resolved
Generative AI accelerates delivery—but often without guardrails. McKinsey and Virtasant warn AI can inflate technical debt unless systems are designed with human oversight and engineering rigor. Reddit communities are even blunter:
“Now they can generate garbage faster and have little incentive to clean it up.” Studies confirm that while AI helps spot code smells and automate fixes, it lacks contextual judgment—a uniquely human trait (CIO).
3. Hybrid model is the future
AI will not replace developers. It will elevate them. GitHub’s CEO says “the smartest companies will hire more engineers, not fewer,” as AI accelerates production but also adds cognitive load and integration complexity (Business Insider). Atlassian found AI saves developers 10+ hours a week, yet coordination inefficiencies cancel much of that gain—with 63% saying leadership doesn’t understand their working reality (ITPro).
How to reach developers
Respect their intelligence Developers don’t fall for fluff. Speak their language, show your logic, cite your sources.
Don’t just talk. Build. Every experience we design is grounded in code and often released post-activation. SDKs, APIs, working demos—because code is credibility.
Make it open, real, and worth their time From games to AR toolkits, we design with their tools, on their stack, and with their feedback. Developers don’t want ads. They want momentum.
In conclusion
Developers are not just downstream implementers. In the AI era, they are the bridge between possibility and product. LLMs may generate responses—but only developers can shape, integrate, and scale them into business-critical systems. The companies that understand this will build an AI advantage.
Real-World Proof: Developers drive AI impact
Google XR at CES
We built one of Google’s first geospatial browser-based AR activations using their new GEOS API.
Google posted an extensive developer case study of their CES Geospatial experience
Visitors scanned a QR code and launched an app-less, in-browser AR guide at CES
Featuring Android bots and spatial navigation, it helped attendees explore the event
Code and methodology were shared via Google’s developer blog, not just demoed on-site
Qualcomm Snapdragon: proof on the edge
For Snapdragon Summit, we developed on-device AI experiences using the new Snapdragon X Elite chip.
No cloud dependencies
Built natively on Qualcomm’s stack
Verified by engineering teams and shared with the dev community to show how real-world edge AI works
Demo-ed live, on-stage by non-other than the CEO of Qualcomm Cristiano Amon
GitHub Copilot: the transparency test
Rather than hype AI productivity claims, we created a competitive team-based game, played in partnership with GitHub Copilot.
Players prompted Copilot to generate HTML from an image prompt
They won points if their AI-assisted code matched the target image
Code was visible in real-time, allowing developers to evaluate Copilot’s usefulness—not just marketing claims
llumend for myCOI
We partnered with insurance compliance leader myCOI to build Illumend, an AI-first product transforming certificate verification.
Compliance review times dropped from 3 days to under 6 minutes
Human oversight was intentionally preserved, allowing AI to augment—not replace—judgment
The system is now scalable, auditable, and dramatically more accurate This wasn’t a dashboard—it was an end-to-end platform that redefined insurance operations by building on AI’s strengths while mitigating its blind spots.
Originally published in the For Breakfast newsletter on LinkedIn, July 14, 2025. Full video episodes are on YouTube at @HaveItForBreakFast.