Our next guest on 'Tech Connects' is Harry Wang, Chief Growth Officer at Sonar, a Geneva-headquartered company that's been helping developers build better, safer software faster for 16 years. Sonar serves 28,000 paying customers, 400,000 organizations, and over 7 million developers worldwide by providing insights on code quality, vulnerabilities, and security directly in developers' workflows. With AI-driven coding becoming increasingly prevalent across organizations, I wanted to talk with Harry about how companies can effectively integrate these powerful tools while maintaining security and governance standards. At the same time, I was curious to explore how AI is reshaping the very nature of software development roles and what that means for engineers at every level.

Here are some quick takeaways from this discussion for any tech professionals navigating AI integration in their organizations:

Start with Pilot Projects and Gather Comprehensive Feedback: Don't roll out AI tools to everyone at once. Instead, test different AI coding tools with small groups first. Get feedback from developers about what helps them work better, and ask your security team about potential risks. Run these tests for a few months to really understand what works and what doesn't before making bigger decisions about which tools to use company-wide.

Cultivate AI Champions from Multiple Organizational Levels: AI adoption happens in different ways across your organization. Some developers will experiment with tools on their own, while management might run formal tests, and executives might push for company-wide AI strategies. Recognize that AI advocates come from all levels and backgrounds, so work with whoever is enthusiastic about these tools to help spread adoption throughout your company.

Invest in Tailored Training and Prompt Engineering Skills: Help your team get better at using AI tools effectively. This means learning how to ask AI the right questions to get useful answers, sharing successful approaches with teammates, and providing formal training through online courses or internal workshops. Think of it as building up your team's ability to work well with AI, just like any other skill.

Embrace AI as Career Augmentation, Not Replacement: Instead of worrying that AI will take your job, use it to do more interesting work. AI can handle boring coding tasks, write tests, and complete routine functions, which frees you up to focus on bigger picture problems like system design and architecture. This is actually an opportunity to level up your role and work on the strategic challenges you've always wanted to tackle.

Implement Robust Governance and Security Oversight: As more people in your company use AI coding tools—including non-technical staff—you need clear rules and safety checks. AI can make mistakes, suggest risky code, or import dangerous third-party libraries. Make sure you have tools and processes in place to catch these problems, and keep humans involved in reviewing and approving AI-generated code.

There was a lot more in that chat, of course, so give it another listen if you feel so inclined. Thank you for joining us—and remember, Dice is your best resource to find the tech talent you need to fill your open roles, and for tech pros, the best place to grow your tech career.

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Our next guest on 'Tech Connects' is Eric Wang, VP of AI at Turnitin, which provides tools to academic institutions for everything from course assessment to academic integrity. For example, they have a platform that detects the use of AI in students' papers. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are having a huge impact right now on how students learn and educators teach, and I wanted to talk with Eric about how the education industry is navigating these changes. At the same time, I also wanted to dig a bit into how AI is changing the very nature of education, training, and ultimately work itself.

Here are some quick takeaways from this discussion for any tech professionals interested in how AI will impact training, education, and work both in the near- and long-term.

Embrace AI as a Tool, Understand Its Nuances: As a tech professional, recognize that AI is a powerful and transformative tool, not an inherent threat. Understand its capabilities and limitations, particularly the distinction between AI's human-like abilities and uniquely human traits like creativity and genuine connection. Focus on how AI can augment your work and learning, but also identify areas where human ingenuity and critical thinking remain paramount. Be prepared to navigate the evolving landscape of AI integration in your field and advocate for ethical and productive use.

Acknowledge and Address User Anxiety Around AI: Be aware that the adoption of AI can generate significant anxiety, even among those who stand to benefit. This is particularly true for individuals early in their careers or those facing substantial shifts in established workflows. As a tech professional, you have a role in fostering understanding and trust around AI. This involves clear communication about its purpose and limitations, establishing guidelines for its ethical use, and supporting those who may feel uncertain about its impact on their roles and future prospects.

Cultivate "Human-Centric" Skills in an AI-Driven World: Recognize that the increasing capabilities of AI in handling routine and even complex tasks will elevate the importance of uniquely human skills. Focus on developing your creative intuition, problem-solving abilities, and capacity for collaboration and communication. The future of tech will likely favor those who can define problems, envision innovative solutions, and lead teams (which may include AI agents) effectively. Prioritize continuous learning in areas that complement AI's strengths.

Contribute to the Development of Responsible AI Integration: As a tech professional, your expertise is crucial in shaping the responsible integration of AI. This includes building tools that promote transparency and understanding of AI's role in various processes, such as learning and assessment. Consider how AI can be used to augment human capabilities, automate tedious tasks, and provide valuable insights without replacing human judgment entirely. Advocate for and contribute to the development of frameworks and best practices that ensure AI is used ethically, effectively, and in a way that fosters trust and positive outcomes across industries.

There was a lot more in that chat, of course, so give it another listen if you feel so inclined. Thank you for joining us—and remember, Dice is your best resource to find the tech talent you need to fill your open roles, and for tech pros, the best place to grow your tech career.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, and welcome to Tech Connects, Dice's podcast where we dig into the topics on tech hiring, recruiting and careers that matter to you. I'm your host, Nick Kolakowski, and today we're going to be talking about learning and development with Becky Wallace, head of people at LearnUpon.

As we’ll get into, LearnUpon builds tools for employee training and learning. I wanted to talk to Becky because she’s been involved in HR and tech for quite some time, including stints at Yahoo and Etsy, and she has incredible insight into how learning and development programs can impact everything from employee morale to retention. Given how tech companies everywhere seem to be wrestling with exactly those issues, it’s critical to have this discussion.

Here are some quick additional takeaways:

When it comes to learning and development, consider management and specialist tracks: Not all talented tech professionals are best suited for people management. To retain specialists and maximize their expertise, companies must create clear, alternative growth paths, such as distinguished engineer or principal specialist roles. These paths should offer increasing responsibility, complexity, and compensation without requiring individuals to oversee teams. Managers should work with their team members to identify these diverse avenues for advancement, and then implement the right training and learning support.

Integrate learning directly into the daily work environment—and make it practical: Managers should recognize that finding dedicated time for employee learning outside of core responsibilities is a major barrier. Companies and managers should explore ways to embed learning within the workflow itself. This could involve encouraging on-the-job learning. Remember: collaboration, tackling new challenges, and even participating in meetings are learning opportunities. Consider piloting new learning initiatives with smaller teams first to refine them based on real-world feedback before a broader rollout, ensuring the learning is relevant and applicable to employees' day-to-day tasks.

Link learning to tangible business outcomes: For companies, it’s critical to move beyond viewing learning and development (or L&D, as some like to call it) as merely a cost center. What does this mean from a management perspective? It means framing L&D initiatives as essential investments by mapping how training activities contribute to achieving key business objectives. You can also use data to demonstrate impact, tracking metrics such as employee retention rates (especially reasons for leaving), engagement survey results, productivity improvements, and successful internal mobility.

Foster a visible culture of continuous learning: A true learning culture is more than just making resources available. It's about a company’s leadership demonstrating a commitment to development and embedding it into the organizational DNA. Senior management and HR should align learning programs with overarching business goals and HR strategy, perhaps even incorporating competencies and skills development into company-wide objectives (like OKRs). In that spirit, it’s critical to regularly check in on progress, communicate successes, and visibly champion learning initiatives. This consistent practice shows employees that learning is a valued priority, encouraging them to actively engage in their own development and contributing to a more resilient and innovative workforce.

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There was a lot more in that discussion, of course, so give it another listen if you feel so inclined. Thank you for joining us—and remember, Dice is your best resource to find the tech talent you need to fill your open roles, and for tech pros, the best place to grow your tech career.

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