Rocky Mountain Ruby 2025 - We Who Remember Magic by Brandon Weaver

Brandon Weaver reflects on the joy of programming in Ruby and discusses the ethical and creative implications of the AI revolution.

There was a time when Ruby felt like magic. It gave an entire generation of developers wings; tools to ship fast, dream big, and start companies from anywhere. It wasn’t just code; it was a movement built on empathy, simplicity, and joy. Ruby taught us that developer happiness wasn’t a luxury; it was a revolution. Now, a new kind of magic is emerging: AI. It’s promising, powerful, and most importantly it’s perilous. As the world rushes to automate, optimize, and amplify, we in the Ruby community have a chance to pause and ask better questions—not just *can we*, but *should we*? This talk isn’t a demo reel. It’s a conversation about responsibility, creativity, and care. About how we bring our whole selves to this moment, with wonder and with skepticism. We'll reflect on what AI means not just for our tools, but for our teams, our values, and the future we're quietly writing together. Ruby taught us to be kind and to focus on people over technology, and that lesson is more important today than ever. Video Production by Confreaks Follow Confreaks 👇 confreaks.com x.com/confreaks confreaks.bsky.social