Dive into the complete episode list for Off Script. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
Rows per page:
50
1–50 of 61
Title
Pub. Date
Duration
Episode 60: Using AI to modernise legacy code, manage tech debt and improve documentation
15 Apr 2026
00:39:11
In this episode of Off Script, James, Josh, and guest Jon Milsom explore the rapid advancements in AI as a tool to refactor codebases, and how teams are leveraging AI to innovate, solve problems, and improve processes across industries.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to AI in Tech Consulting
01:03 The Evolution of AI and Its Impact
03:13 AI Week: Experimentation and Learning
04:39 Personal Projects: Scratch an Itch
07:35 Encouraging Innovation and Creativity
08:41 The Excitement of AI and Its Challenges
11:19 Using AI for Tech Debt and Documentation
13:46 AI's Role in Code Review and Documentation
17:05 Navigating Bottlenecks in Development
19:10 The Broader Responsibility of Engineers
20:26 The Importance of Maintenance in Software Development
Episode 59: From ZX Spectrum to Agentic AI: A lifelong journey to creating a cutting edge agency
20 Mar 2026
00:41:37
Most businesses underestimate how quickly AI is transforming every industry, and those who don’t adapt risk falling behind. In this episode, Tim Lewis, CTO of innovative AI consultancy Zygens, shares how organizations can harness agentic AI to unlock rapid, low-risk value that scales.
Discover how small, agile teams can lead the AI revolution by focusing on strategic initiatives like governance, safety, and domain expertise, rather than just tech tinkering. Tim breaks down real-world examples from his career, from pioneering streaming platforms to rebranding logistics giants, illustrating how good engineering, organizational agility, and a human-centered approach are key to thriving in this fast-changing landscape.
We also explore the new role of consultants in the AI era: moving away from resource-heavy solutions toward expert guidance that accelerates transformation while managing risks. If you’re a leader, a tech enthusiast, or a forward-thinking professional eager to stay ahead of the AI curve, this episode is your guide.
With insights rooted in decades of experience across tech, media, and logistics, and a passionate belief that AI should be accessible to all, Tim reveals how organizations can confidently navigate this frontier. Perfect for decision-makers, innovators, and anyone ready to turn AI uncertainty into opportunity.
Episode 58: The case for Lovelace Labs in Manchester
30 Jan 2026
01:06:05
In this episode of Off Script, Josh, James, and Tom discuss the importance of innovation in Leeds and the broader UK, emphasizing the need for representation and funding for technology outside of London, triggered by an article Tom wrote titled "National purpose on AI". Tom shares insights on the historical context of innovation in Leeds, the role of academic research, and the success stories of tech companies in regions like Stoke-on-Trent. They also propose Manchester as a suitable location for Lovelace Labs and call for a national data library to be established in Leeds. The discussion highlights the need for a more confident and proactive approach to promoting Northern innovation and addressing funding disparities.
The UK government often overlooks innovation happening outside London.
Leeds has a rich history of innovation and should be recognized for it.
The tech sector in Stoke-on-Trent is surprisingly larger than in Oxford.
Academic research is crucial for innovation but often underfunded outside major cities.
There is a need for a national data library to be based in Leeds.
Manchester is a strong candidate for the proposed Lovelace Labs.
Local companies need to be more vocal about their contributions to the economy.
Funding for innovation should be more evenly distributed across the UK.
The North should celebrate its successes and promote its strengths more actively.
A cultural shift is needed to demand more respect and representation for Northern innovation.
Episode 57: Is AI destroying Open Source?
16 Jan 2026
00:34:17
In this episode of Off Script, hosts Josh and James delve into the contentious topic of whether AI is destroying open source software. They discuss the recent layoffs at Tailwind, a popular open-source project, and how AI's ability to generate code from existing libraries is impacting the sustainability of such projects. The conversation highlights the ethical implications of AI's use of open-source code without proper attribution, raising concerns about the future of open-source maintainers and the community's ethos. They explore the balance between the benefits of AI in enhancing productivity and the risks of diminishing the value of original contributions to open-source projects.
AI is changing the model of open source, not necessarily destroying it.
The burden of maintaining open source projects is increasing due to AI's impact.
Attribution and compensation for open source maintainers are critical issues.
AI can automate mundane tasks, allowing maintainers to focus on creative work.
The learning process for developers may be compromised by AI's ease of use.
Episode 56: Juggling leadership and family life
10 Dec 2025
00:20:44
In this episode, Josh and James discuss the challenges of balancing family life with demanding leadership roles. They share personal experiences of parenthood, the importance of setting boundaries, and the need for a supportive work culture that accommodates family responsibilities. Their conversation highlights the necessity of effective time management, prioritization, and the emotional adjustments that come with being a parent while maintaining a professional career.
Creating boundaries is essential for managing responsibilities.
It's important to communicate openly with coworkers about family needs.
Saying no to certain commitments is necessary for well-being.
Work-life balance requires constant adjustment and prioritization.
Parenthood changes your perception of time and focus.
A supportive work culture can ease the challenges of parenting.
Planning ahead can help mitigate chaos in daily life.
Making yourself redundant in business processes is a good strategy.
Embracing the learning curve of parenthood is crucial.
Episode 55: From proof of concept to production: AI engineering
25 Nov 2025
00:23:22
In this conversation, James and Josh discuss the transition from prototype apps to production-ready products, emphasising the challenges and opportunities presented by vibe coding. They explore the implications of new coding tools, the importance of version control, and the need for security measures. The discussion highlights the evolving landscape of software engineering and the potential for new developers to emerge from this environment, while also addressing the responsibilities that come with creating applications.
Vibe coding allows for rapid prototyping but can mislead about readiness for production.
The barrier to entry for coding has significantly lowered, enabling more people to create apps.
Version control is essential for managing app development and preventing data loss.
The evolution of tools has made coding more accessible but also introduces new risks.
Security measures must be prioritized as apps transition from prototype to production.
AI tools can assist in app development but require careful handling of data.
The gap between prototype and production needs clear communication to avoid pitfalls.
New developers may emerge from the vibe coding trend, bringing fresh perspectives.
Ethical considerations in AI and app development will become increasingly important.
Episode 54: Why awards shouldn't cost a fortune
29 Sep 2025
00:13:22
In this episode, James and Josh discuss the troubling nature of paid awards in the tech industry. They explore how these awards often prioritize profit over genuine recognition, leading to feelings of exploitation among nominees. Thier conversation delves into the implications of such practices on community inclusivity and the need for a reevaluation of how recognition is given in the industry.
Paid awards often exploit nominees for profit.
The pricing of awards can feel unfair and exploitative.
Awards should recognize hard work, not just financial investment.
Community representation is often overshadowed by profit motives.
Transparency in award processes is crucial for credibility.
The perception of value in awards is warped by corporate interests.
Decision-makers should reconsider their spending on awards.
Alternative recognition methods could be more beneficial.
Awards can create a false sense of achievement.
The community should benefit from the funds spent on awards.
Episode 53: The power of pen and paper
15 Aug 2025
00:16:06
In this episode, James and Josh discuss the significance of pen and paper in an increasingly digital world. They explore various note-taking techniques, the benefits of physical writing for memory retention, and the importance of managing mental load through effective organization. Their conversation highlights the balance between urgency and importance in task management, emphasizing the need for reflection and prioritization in both personal and professional contexts.
Pen and paper are essential for focused thinking.
The physical act of writing aids memory retention.
Different note-taking methods can enhance comprehension.
Digital tools can complement traditional note-taking.
Urgent tasks can overshadow important ones.
Reflection on notes helps prioritize tasks effectively.
AI tools can assist but should not replace personal notes.
Concise note-taking is a valuable skill.
Managing mental load is crucial for productivity.
Taking a step back to write thoughts down can alleviate stress.
Episode 52: Unlocking team potential with user manuals
01 Aug 2025
00:14:33
In this episode, Josh and James discuss the concept of user manuals for humans, exploring how individuals can communicate their preferences, boundaries, and working styles to foster better collaboration in teams. They emphasize the importance of psychological safety, effective communication, and the role of writing in self-reflection and team dynamics. The conversation also touches on managing expectations, delegation, and creating a safe space for open dialogue within teams.
User manuals help communicate personal working styles.
Psychological safety is crucial for honest communication.
Feedback should be given early and often.
Writing down thoughts aids in self-reflection.
Effective communication requires understanding different styles.
Delegation should come with clear information.
Creating a safe space encourages team collaboration.
Writing is a powerful tool for clarity and thinking.
Sharing user manuals can align team expectations.
Openness in communication fosters trust and understanding.
Episode 51: Is Test Driven Development actually better now we have AI?
15 Jul 2025
00:23:13
Josh and James discuss the implications of Test-Driven Development (TDD) in the context of the rapid advancements in AI technology. They explore how AI tools are changing the landscape of software development, the challenges of maintaining quality in fast-paced environments, and the importance of balancing speed with safety. Their conversation also touches on the future of coding, the training of new developers, and the evolving role of testing in ensuring robust software solutions.
TDD is gaining renewed importance with the rise of AI.
AI tools can enhance rapid prototyping but come with risks.
Maintaining quality in software is crucial as teams move quickly.
The balance between speed and safety is essential in development.
Understanding system design and good architecture is foundational for developers.
AI can assist in writing tests and fixing bugs effectively.
The complexity of production apps increases with user volume.
New tools are emerging to support error tracking and testing.
Training the next generation of developers is vital in an AI-driven landscape.
Investing in TDD and BDD can set teams apart in software development.
Episode 50: The new age of tech job interviews and how to conquer them
23 Jun 2025
00:25:27
In this weeks episode, Josh and James discuss the challenges of securing a job in the tech industry, particularly focusing on the impact of ageism, evolving expectations for tech roles, and the influence of AI on the interview process. They cover the importance of communication skills, personal branding, and the need for candidates to be honest about their abilities. The discussion also highlights the necessity of adapting to the changing landscape of tech jobs and the skills required to succeed in interviews.
The tech job market is becoming increasingly competitive.
Ageism affects both junior and senior developers.
Keeping up with new technologies is challenging as one ages.
Expectations for tech roles have broadened significantly.
Candidates are often expected to wear multiple hats in smaller teams.
AI is influencing how candidates prepare for interviews.
Honesty about skills can lead to better job fits.
Good communication is essential in tech roles.
Building a personal brand can enhance job prospects.
Networking and personal connections are crucial for job opportunities.
Episode 49: Navigating the AI discourse — Why can't we talk properly about AI?
16 Jun 2025
00:29:29
In this weeks episode, Josh and James delve into the complexities of the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), exploring the polarising perspectives that dominate discussions. In a balanced debate, they emphasise the importance of understanding AI as a tool rather than a stand-alone entity, highlighting the need for responsible usage and ethical considerations in its development and implementation. They cover the reality of AI's impact on engineering and the necessity of maintaining a human element in the design process. This episode is a call to action for technologists to navigate the AI hype responsibly and to create strong governance around its use.
The discourse around AI is often polarising and broken.
AI is frequently misrepresented in sensational headlines.
Understanding AI as a tool is crucial for productive discussions.
The reality of AI's impact on engineering is often overstated.
Human involvement is essential in the design and implementation of AI.
Ethical considerations are paramount in AI development.
AI can improve accessibility and inclusivity in products.
Navigating the AI hype requires careful evaluation and governance.
The importance of productive friction in learning and development.
AI's role in software development is evolving and requires adaptation.
Episode 48: AI interoperability and MCP
02 Jun 2025
00:26:49
In this conversation, Josh and James discuss AI interoperability and the concept of MCP (Model Context Protocol). They explore the initial skepticism surrounding MCP, the process of building custom MCP servers, and the importance of permissions and security in AI integrations. The discussion also touches on the future of AI integration in various applications, particularly in shopping experiences, and the potential for these technologies to revolutionise how we interact with digital tools.
MCP is a new way to integrate AI with existing tools.
Initial skepticism can lead to valuable discoveries in technology.
Building custom MCP servers can enhance personal productivity.
Permissions and security are crucial when using AI tools.
MCP has the potential to go mainstream with the right ecosystem.
AI can act on behalf of users, changing the way we interact with technology.
Real-world applications of MCP can simplify everyday tasks.
The future of shopping may involve AI-driven experiences.
AI tools need to be intuitive for non-developers to adopt them.
The evolution of technology often leads to a blend of old and new experiences.
Episode 47: Behind the scenes of running a tech conference
01 Apr 2025
00:21:17
How do you structure and run the perfect tech conference? What things are involved behind the scenes that attendees don’t see? What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own event?
We’re glad you asked! This episode is an All Day Hey! Special where hosts, Josh and James spill the beans on what goes on behind the All Day Hey! conference curtain, how we can collectively safeguard the future of events and what makes running a tech conference like this so special.
Episode 46: How to plan and run a discovery workshop
24 Mar 2025
00:28:04
What is a discovery workshop and how can they be used to work through problems in your business? In this episode, James and Josh discuss how they've run them in the past and offer some tips and tricks to getting the most out of these sessions.
Listen now for a brand new instalment of Off Script!
00:00 Introduction
01:00 What is a discovery workshop
02:00 Using Miro
02:30 Slideument - slide deck with a documents worth of content
03:00 Use the right medium to foster discussion
04:00 Break workshop sessions into two
05:00 Use other physical spaces to inspire
06:00 Framing the problem but not steering
07:00 Amazon's idea - Write the Press Release
08:00 What are the challenges, resources, and politics?
Episode 44: Future of software engineering leadership - Part 2
11 Dec 2024
00:22:59
Part 2 has landed! For this outing of Off Script, Josh and James explore the ‘Future of engineering leadership’.
This is an episode born from Q&A discussions and ideas at the recent Off Script Live event in Leeds. Dive into the modern challenges and the future direction of leadership in software engineering.
AI Sustainability
Company energy offset
Energy demands of AI vs speed of innovation
AI on device
Apple Siri LLM on device?
Loneliness in leadership positions
Talk with peers in other companies
Lattice HR for feedback
Finding your role
Event culture
Consistency creates community
Organiser sets the tone
Challenges for future leaders
Addressing the gap between vocal and and non vocal team members
Episode 43: Future of software engineering leadership - Part 1
03 Dec 2024
00:27:56
"It's not enough just being right. You've got to actually convince people of your way of thinking and take other people on the journey".
Off Script is back with Josh and James hosting the first episode in a massive two-parter!
They take lessons and hot topics from the recent Off Script Live event in Leeds. Dive into the modern challenges and the future direction of leadership in software engineering in this episode.
The historically popular development process of “move fast and break things” has got the biggest companies in the world far. In the age of AI, can we still take these risks in the name of progress or are the potential repercussions too great? Josh and James are joined by guest Jack Sails to discuss.
Recorded: 17th July 2024
02 Open AI fearless implementation
03 Is developing in a vacuum worse?
04 Google move fast and break things becomes more dangerous
05 OpenAI haven't lost trust yet
06 How did OpenAI get its data - Mira Murati
09 Scraping the internet for data
10 A open internet vs private companies
10 ARC browser hover LLM description
11 Imperfect innovation, where does it come from?
11 Innovating to solve a problem vs innovation into unknown areas
12 Microsoft Copilot AI
13 ChatGPT taking over Google as the go-to for questions
16 Kodak & digital images
18 Humans bring value and craft
19 The iPhone was a ipod killer
20 Fearing innovation and protectionism
21 Nokia's lack of smartphone innovation
25 Theranos - Fake it till you make it in medicine
Jack Sails (IMA) is back with James & Josh to discuss the recent WWDC24 Apple Developer conference. Was AI the word of the conference? Find out as they work through everything revealed this year and how it will affect their products going forward.
Inspired by reading ‘Investments Unlimited’ and other books built around the principles of storytelling, James and Josh dive into DevSecOps and the bigger picture of shifting security left in this new episode of Off Script!
In this episode:
00:00 Fictional Bugs - Investments Unlimited
01:00 DevSecOps
02:00 Moving security testing to the beginning
03:00 Reducing the friction of releases
04:00 Go through pain points early
05:00 Strict linting, function length, no unused variables
06:00 Early automated tests to prevent Git leaks
08:00 Making it easy for the developer
10:00 Bearer
11:00 Concise reporting
12:00 Dependabot
13:00 Secret Management
14:00 Making it easy to do the right thing
16:00 Having pride in your security
17:00 What if your language doesn’t have much security support?
What do fish donuts, a passion for cooking and elaborate recipes have to do with productivity? Are you getting enough of a creative outlet around your busy schedule? Josh and James discuss the importance of side projects and how the variety they add to your week benefits your work-life balance and output!
What are AI risks? What do we need to consider when looking at our projects? Josh and James are are back for another episode of Off Script to dig deeper into this important topic!
It’s time for our annual review of the year! In this episode, James and Josh discuss the many twists and turns that the last 12 months brought in this 2023 developer round-up.
Thank you for listening this year. We’ll be back with more episodes in the New Year!
01 A look back at the year
03 The year AI went mainstream
05 Tech layoffs
07 Open AI x Microsoft partnership
08 M2 Apple Mac chips
09 Google Bard
12 Stephen Wolfram wrote "What is ChatGPT doing.. And why does it work?"
Are all leaders extroverts? Does agile development mean there is no plan or documentation? Do leaders have to be the best developer? Following on from a recent in-person talk, James and Josh discuss more common tech misconceptions in the area of leadership.
01 Misconception in leadership
01 Leadership is the only way for progression
02 Tech path vs management path
03 Dual track progression
04 Good code is all that matters
05 How teams interact
06 We'll cross the bridge when its comes to it
09 Have to be the best engineer to be a leader
10 It’s not about you
11 Tech skills trump company culture
12 Diversity
14 More developers = more velocity
17 Documentation is less important for agile teams
Any team will have a variety of emotional states when responding to problems. How do you analyse, understand and make meaningful decisions based on these differences? In this episode, James and Josh discuss different methods of understanding a team’s characteristics and how taking these into account can lead you to getting the best out of everyone.
What are the steps to building a thriving community? What challenges might you face along the way? In this episode, James and Josh draw on their experience of creating and building communities online and offline, sharing their insights on how to make it a success.
AI ethics - a hot, divisive topic and rightly so. James and Josh are back with a brand new episode of Off Script to dig in and explore a space that is impacting our lives more and more.
01 Intro
02 Applied AI event
03 Bethan Vincent's talk
03 Jack Sails’ talk
06 Outcomes are not determined by intentions
07 EU Cookie law
09 Tech can’t be decided by those who know the least about the tech
10 Regulation
11 AI marking of papers
12 Only as good as the dataset it is trained on
13 Why as a company would we use this?
14 Disclaimers
15 AI Consultancy
18 Risk
19 Oxford Uni CapAI implementation
20 What happens when things don’t go right?
22 Accountability
25 The Trolley problem
27 Deontology
28 The moral machine self driving car
29 7 Things to consider when implementing AI in your business
James and Josh explore the world of SSGs (static site generators)! The differences between SSGs and full stack frameworks, the associated technologies out there and what to consider with your project when deciding what is best for it.
[Recorded 13th July, 2023]
01 Intro
02 The Personal Website
02 Static Site Generators
02 ASTRO
03 Content driven site vs Logic and functional site
04 Jekyll
04 Webapps
07 Full stack frameworks
08 MPA vs SPA
10 Islands
15 It’s a cms without the cms
16 Flexible data structures enforced via TypeScript
20 Deployment - compilation step, already do this on most frameworks anyway
22 Still require a rich runtime environment of JS deps etc
What is the blockchain? How has it changed over time? Is it still killing the planet? James and Josh discuss various types of blockchain systems and how they might have some real world applications for social good.
James & Josh discuss the recent WWDC 2023 conference and break down some of the announcements. Dive in to the episode to hear all their thoughts on the latest developments coming out of Apple HQ and the impact it may have on us.
Returning podcast guest Jack Sails joins James and Josh to discuss developments in large language models! Over this episode they discuss how LLMs are being used, Open AI and its current offerings, tips on how to use them and any concerns they may have around this new technology.
[Recorded 19th April, 2023]
02 - Metaverse & Crypto
03 - Online virtual spaces
04 - Chat GPT evolution
05 - GPT-4
06 - Apple audiobooks
06 - SIRI + LLM
07 - A GPT does not understand you
09 - What are LLMs and how do they work?
10 - 1 word = 1 token
11 - What is temperature in the context of LLMs?
13 - OpenAI Playground
14 - Clippy on crack
16 - Should we be concerned about the flaws? It can’t even add 2+2
18 - Siri Skills
19 - How can we lean into this technology to improve our productivity
20 - Decision paralysis
20 - Good prompt writing is key
22 - Megaprompting
23 - How can you learn how to reprompt to get the output you’re looking for
24 - Privacy concerns
26 - Bias
27 - D.A.N
31 - NPCs in games
34 - How do we remain ethical in a world of generated content?
35 - UK Chancellor using it to craft a speech
41 - How can we use this today, in our everyday lives?
Off Script is back! This episode, James and Josh discuss engineering culture and some of the best practices and processes they’ve implemented for reliable development cycles. What’s the release process? How do you monitor the application and ensure robust code quality? How do Infrastructure and security considerations affect the development? All covered in this episode!
02 Release process - Continuous integration
03 Feature flagging
05 Versioning
07 Application Monitoring & alerting
09 Flare error message mishap
10 Centralised Dashboards
11 Shipping a better product
11 Tips for a new hire
12 Linting
13 Versioning
15 Testing
17 Reduce the feedback loop
20 Architecture review
22 Programming patterns
25 Infrastructure
26 Tooling setup and access (Consul, Vault, etc)
28 Infrastructure as code
30 Data residency and regional deployments
32 Security
33 Secret storage and environment specific configuration
34 Regulatory compliance (e.g. ISO 27001, GCloud expectations
The state of the world, green engineering, James' wedding, Elon's meltdowns. To round off the year, James and Josh look back at the many ups and downs from the world of tech and beyond.
00 - State of the world
01 - Good to be back in the office
03 - Figma & its Adobe acquisition
04 - Mozilla started to accept Crypto then halted
05 - Web3
06 - Google Fonts Privacy & GDPR breach
07 - Reducing the web's carbon footprint. Optimising & green engineering
08 - Building a Greener Web talk by Michelle Barker
09 - Netify sponsoring open source eleventy
10 - MDN Mozilla Dev Network refresh
11 - '5 Web things that you don't need Javascript for'
12 - CSS Tricks acquired by Digital Ocean
13 - US announced plans to make daylight saving time permanent
15 - Devs for Ukraine
17 - Twitter embeds
18 - Duck Duck Go for Mac & other Chromium forks
20 - US court reaffirmed that web scraping is legal
21 - All Day Hey! 2022
22 - Blogging making a comeback - Own your own thoughts
23 - Is Mastodon any good?
25 - Mailing lists are back
25 - CSS Day is back
26 - Internet Explorer was retired
27 - Stranger Things had a hacking scene that featured Flexbox
28 - WWWDC - Human interface guidelines
29 - Apple Passkeys
30 - W3C became a public interest not-for-profit enterprise
31 - UK Online Safety Bill - a disappointment that targets individuals not big tech
33 - Cookie Pop-up failure of policy
34 - Heroku down all the time
36 - James got married
37 - Chrome version 105
38 - No Code Tools Article
40 - Don't throw away code - article
40 - GitHubs - What's your first github contribution
42 - Source code webkit is now managed on GitHub
43 - Heather Burns - Data Privacy Book
44 - Chris Coyier - Talk 'The web is good now'
45 - Cloudflare SVG support for images
46 - Leeds Digital Festival - DALLE event
48 - btconf - Berlin Trip
48 - PassKey Support by Google
49 - CSS Working Group - The View Transition API + Scrolled Linked Transitions
51 - Way Back Machine Turned 21
53 - Hey! Presents Social in Leeds
54 - ffconf pod episode
54 - Advent of Code
55 - Josh on 'Another Idea Podcast' - Creative Podcast
55 - Web Sustainability Resources
56 - Practical Accessibility Course
57 - re:Invent episode
57 - 'Engineering management for the rest of us' - book by Sarah Drasner
James is back from his Vegas trip for AWS re:Invent! In this episode, they discuss James’ impression of the city, the hot topics of the talks and James’ exploration of the variety of American fast food joints.
00 - What Vegas is like
01 - Elastic vs Serverless
02 - Event overview
06 - Redshift Serverless
07 - Zero ETL
08 - Aurora into Redshift
09 - DataZone
10 - QuickSight Q
11 - Keynote: Swami Sivasubramanian
Fully managed databases
AWS Glue Data Quality
The new geospatial capabilities in Amazon SageMaker allow data scientists to predict natural disasters, manage relief efforts, and navigate roads using satellite imagery and pre-trained neural networks.
DataZone, governance for data lakes, data viruses, and machine learning
Following on from the previous conversation about GPT-3, James & Josh discuss the explosion of ChatGPT's popularity. In this episode they explore how it's different from previous iterations, the way its features are impressing the tech community and also where its limitations may lie.
00 - What does it do differently to GPT-3
01 - Maybe prompt writing won't be a job of the future!
03 - A helpful debugging companion
04 - A new way to interface with Stackoverflow
06 - It doesn't know how to be evil... yet
06 - Finding flaws in Smart Contracts
08 - Live Captioning
09 - What are the roadblocks in AI development?
10 - We can learn a lot from it
12 - AI writing its own prompts or feeding into DALL-E
13 - Where to put checks and balances?
14 - Try asking it a Google question
15 - Book Recommendation: Life 3.0
17 - Teething issues with the new technology
18 - Safeguarding & the online Safety Bill considerations
What is GPT-3 and how does the future look? How will AI affect work? What ethical dilemmas must we consider? James & Josh talk about all things GPT-3 and the recent surge in the use of AI from business applications to experimental art.
In this episode, Josh and James explore Josh’s recent trip to ffconf 2022 in Brighton. They discuss the talks, all the highlights and takeaways raised during the conference.
2 - ffconf hacked gameboy game in gift pack
5 - Talk: Florence Okoye - Designing as we want, to create the experiences that we need
6 - Design justice framework
9 - Talk: Heydon Pickering - Capitalism, The Web, And You
11 - The Gig Economy, Slavery, Uber & Exploitation
13 - Talk: Lex Lofthouse - Design for Developers
14 - Bootstrap
16 - Talk: Sophie Koonin - This Talk is Under Construction: a love letter to the personal website
17 - Back to blogs
18 - “The Modern web is not for creators, it’s for consumers”
19 - “Building a website is a radical act in this day and age”
20 - Talk: Lily Madar - Programming with Yarn
23 - Talk: Natalia Waniczek - Working towards a greener world from behind the keyboard
24 - Green engineering principles
25 - Music streaming greenhouse gas emissions
26 - Optimising for region hosting
27 - Talk: Sareh Heidari - Digital exclusion in healthcare & how to change it
What is and isn’t an API? How has the technology changed over time? What are new considerations that have arisen? Hosts James & Josh discuss a variety of APIs and the benefits and faults that help refine the APIs of today.
00 - What is an API?
03 - S.O.A.P
05 - Restful API
06 - RSS & JSON
07 - Public API’s
10 - Documentation driven development
13 - React API & GitHub
16 - Graph QL
19 - Twilio
20 - Stripe Payment
23 - Paypal
24 - Web hooks
27 - Pusher
30 - Modern API Considerations
31 - Cloud Front/ API Gateway
34 - Documentation - What is design without documentation
Episode 20: Beyond Tellerrand Berlin 2022 round up
26 Sep 2022
01:08:38
This episode of Off Script, Josh and James explore Josh’s recent trip to Berlin to the single-track conference, Beyond Tellerrand. They discuss and break down all the hot topics for us.
01 Intro
03 Venue
03 The Pac Man Rule - Always leave a gap in your circle!
04 Live subtitles at the event
06 All together now by Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
15 Inviting People In by Michelle Chin - Different ways we were forced to collaborate during the pandemic.
20 If You’re Not Scared, You’re Not Living by Vic Lee
24 Make it sound by Tiziana Alocci involving the use of non speech audio to convey information.
28 Dragon slayer by Espen Brunborg - How to be a better web designer
32 The reinvention of normal by Dominic Wilcox - About creativity and being creative.
40 Stand in talk - Pragmatic Sketching
45 Visualising connections by Nadieh Bremer including bringing open source constellation maps to life.
50 The Content Design of Civil Discourse: Turning Conflict into Collaboration by David Thomas - What does a productive conversation about a topic look like
54 Less thinking. More tinkering by Gavin Strange - Create a space for creativity to happen
57 Making by breaking by Dina Amin - A book is not a book. It’s paper, string, words, letters
101 Making the impossible possible by Janis McDavid - Who are we when we are alone, who are we when no one is watching
What are the benefits of using React Native to build mobile applications over platform specific frameworks? Where did it come from and why might it be a good choice for your next project? Hosts James & Josh discuss their use of React Native and how it’s helped streamline app development.
01 How it enables quick UI Iterations & rapid app development
How has the Internet of Things changed how we build internet connected devices, and does this approach sometimes overly complicated things? Hosts James and Josh discuss the world of IoT, its real world applications and some of the pitfalls projects fall into.
00 - History of IoT
01 - Anything can be connected via a ESP32 controller
02 - ‘Making things more complex than they need to’
03 - Petnet IoT Cat Feeder
04 - A Single point of failure ‘Starve your cat as a service’
05 - Street lights in Aberdeen & how they store the schedule on the light
Off Script is back with a special episode as hosts Josh and James reflect on another successful All Day Hey! conference in Leeds and via live stream. Running through the talks and the dynamics of the day, listen in for a breakdown of how it all went and their thoughts on the talks of the day.
Hey! Presents are uploading all of the content from the day over the next few weeks so make sure to head over to their website to check out the talks from this year’s fantastic speakers.
01 - Intro & thanks
04 - Benefit of IRL conversations
06 - Emily Cressey’s Design Systems talk and Sketch
10 - Different designs for different levels of complexity
11 - Power user vs Casual
12 - Design system manager
13 - Github
13 - 'Evaluate what design elements you use and delete what does not get used'
14 - Stephanie Stimac’s talk on ‘Progressive Webapps’
On this episode of Off Script, James runs us through his recent trip to South By South West (SXSW) and analyses what it all means with Josh. What were the main talking points? What were the new trends worth noting? Our hosts give us their thoughts on Zuckerberg's appearance & the exciting but possibly dystopic future the new tech could lead us to.
The programming of the event
Emerging tech trends
Our role as leaders
Robin Hood app & Gamification
Overvaluation of some tech companies
Is this a bubble?
Candle Media buying Youtube channels
Silo'd Metaverse experiences
Video games have been doing this for years
AI
Deepfakes
WAB AR/VR
Zuckerberg
Synthetic Biology
Tech Warfare
Flexible working & culture changes relating to equality
What can we learn from the success and simplicity of Wordle? How can we be more aware of when we’re likely to over-engineer a solution?
Hosts James & Josh discuss when to add complexity, when it’s not needed and scenarios where you’re more likely to encounter over-engineering difficulties.
What is the metaverse and what has it got to do with Facebook? How do NFTs fit into it? Is it all 3D and gaming or is there more to it with business applications? Hosts James & Josh speak with our guest, Jack Sails and discuss where to begin with it and how to make sense of it all.
2021 has been an eventful year! From January's launch of the AVIF format, April's Basecamp employee speech controversy and the web hitting 30 years old plus much more. Hosts James & Josh take us on a journey through the highs and lows of the year.
Thanks to Cooper Press’ Frontend Focus and Ruby Weekly, invaluable resources that helped us go back in time to compile the monthly breakdown.
How do you avoid burnout and keep productivity high? What methods can you use to help produce an efficient flow state? How have companies addressed these issues around hybrid working? Productivity and mental health go hand in hand but how do you manage it? Hosts James & Josh explore these issues around creating a positive motivated team.
Burnout
Time boxing
The side effects of being unproductive
Mental health
Exercise
Setting boundaries
Setting time limits on software and social media useage
What leadership style do you have? How do you foster a productive culture? When do you give people autonomy and when do you put your foot down? The decisions around how to lead a team can affect how successful a project delivery is. How did the pandemic and working from home impact things? Hosts James & Josh explore these questions and look at ways to engage the team.
Different leadership styles
The value of delegating
How to keep people invested in the project
Boundaries when working from home
Tooling the team for the current times
Giving autonomy
Putting your foot down
The curse of analysis paralysis
How team structure affects leadership styles
Creating a positive culture around leadership when starting a business
Open Source software leadership
How different management styles anchorage flow state