In this episode, Michael and Ben speak with Mark Fussell, CEO of Diagrid, about Dapr, a runtime for building distributed applications. Mark shares insights on the challenges of microservices development, the importance of durable workflows, and the actor model. The conversation also touches on API design, the future of AI in software engineering, and how Dapr can accelerate development processes. Mark emphasizes the need for best practices in the rapidly evolving AI landscape and how Dapr aims to provide a robust solution for developers.

In this episode, Michael and Ben explore the world of open source projects in AI, focusing on MLflow and its various flavors. They discuss popular machine learning libraries like Scikit-learn, SparkML, and tree-based algorithms such as XGBoost and LightGBM. The conversation also delves into time series forecasting techniques and the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI, emphasizing the importance of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different tools in the open source community.

In this episode, Michael and Ben discuss the challenges of decision-making in software engineering, particularly focusing on the sunk cost fallacy, emotional attachment to work, and the importance of prototyping. They explore how to recognize when to pivot or bail on a project, the complexities of ROI calculations, and how to effectively communicate with stakeholders about project scope and trade-offs. The conversation emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to emotional investment in work, the value of iterative development, and the biases that can affect decision-making.