People Over Tech: What We Learned Rolling Out AI Coding Tools at Netflix
Stewart Reichling
Product Manager, Developer Platform @ Netflix
Session not recorded.
Abstract
Everyone's asking "how do we roll out AI tools?" That's not the hard question. The hard question is: how do you help thousands of people navigate a fundamental shift in how they work?
At Netflix, the team rolled out AI coding tools to thousands of developers. Every lesson they learned was a people lesson. In this talk, Stewart will share those lessons: why your early adopters are foretellers but not your whole strategy. Why you should design for the majority, not the innovators. And why the goal has to be helping people see the value of these tools.
The tools and models will keep changing. The people challenges will stay the same. Solve for the people, and the tech takes care of itself.
At Netflix, the team rolled out AI coding tools to thousands of developers. Every lesson they learned was a people lesson. In this talk, Stewart will share those lessons: why your early adopters are foretellers but not your whole strategy. Why you should design for the majority, not the innovators. And why the goal has to be helping people see the value of these tools.
The tools and models will keep changing. The people challenges will stay the same. Solve for the people, and the tech takes care of itself.
About the speaker
Stewart Reichling
Product Manager, Developer Platform
Stewart Reichling is a Product Manager at Netflix, where he focuses on cutting edge developer tools, including agentic AI coding and cloud development environments. With a track record spanning McKinsey, Google, and Benchling, Stewart has spent his career at the intersection of technology and human behavior. Throughout his work, he has developed a knack for building delightful developer experiences that simplify workflows and lessen the load of getting things done.
