Kelsey Hightower's advice for platform engineers as AI looms

Renowned public speaker, industry commentator, technologist and open source ambassador Kelsey Hightower describes himself as an AI skeptic, but warns that platform engineers should take the threat of AI to their jobs seriously. In this episode, he explains the skills IT operations leaders must emphasize as they prepare for the question: "What value do you bring over the machines?"

Featuring: Kelsey Hightower, technologist, speaker and open source ambassador

In today’s episode, we’ll cover…

• AI's "Bridge building problem"
• Why AI is a surface-level technology
• A coming salary correction for some IT pros
• "Training your replacement" vs understanding systems

and more!

References:

• DevSecOps AI agents add platform context, woo enterprises
• Cloud-native platform engineering in the enterprise
• Kubernetes AI progress in 2025 and the road ahead
• GitHub Universe: Large IT orgs share AI automation gains

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