Simon Allardice, Creative Director and Lead Author at Pluralsight, speaks with Angie Jones, VP of Global Developer Relations at TBD @ Block, about AI, testing, and the importance of being a T-shaped engineer. We had an engaging Q&A session. There’s so much wisdom in the Q&A session that we won’t be able to capture it all (all the more reason to watch the entire session), but we’ll share some of the highlights below.
Simon: For people who aren’t in a hands-on software testing role, but are in a related role, to be able to sit in a meeting and understand what everyone’s talking about, what’s the best way to understand AI testing? How much should I learn?
Angie:I believe that quality is everyone’s responsibility. No matter what role you are in, you should strive to understand what high quality means. What does it mean for an application to be of high quality?
You may not know the ins and outs of software testing, but you should know enough to understand who is using your product and how. And always keep those users and their use cases top of mind as you work.
simon: If you’re in an entry-level job in development: You’re starting to be aware of AI, machine learning, and blockchain, but you’ve never touched it. First of all, how do you get started?
Angie: First of all, for those of us who have worked in the technology industry for decades, this is overwhelming. So don’t be afraid. Aim for a T-shape. Gain a basic understanding of a wide range of topics. Decide on one or two topics that really interest you. Thoroughly master one or two areas of interest.
simon: It’s easy for everyone to have some trepidation about AI and worry that it will take away their jobs. No wonder people are so pessimistic about AI. What are you focusing on to give hope in the AI field?
Angie: It might get worse before it gets better. There’s a lot of hype around AI right now. We are now seeing substance to match that hype. Some companies may think they can eliminate certain jobs and use AI to do just those jobs. I’ve used ChatGPT enough that I’ve started to recognize patterns in the output I get. If you want to utilize ChatGPT over and over again for similar tasks that require different results, this may not be the best tool for you. This is where human creativity comes into play.