Slop is a standards problem
Your feed is full of warnings about an incoming tidal wave of AI slop. Unmaintainable code. Crushing tech debt. Anyone with a prompt and ten minutes shipping production code. The fear is real, but it misses what’s actually going wrong.
Slop happens when the standard isn’t stated. AI drives for done. Without a bar to clear, done is all you get. The way through is configuration: writing the standard down, once, in a file the machine and the human can both point at.
David makes the case that the same technology we fear will flood us with slop is the technology that can elevate the bar, if you set one. You’ll leave with a simple framework to get started, a model for turning AI into a quality multiplier, and honest caveats about where this breaks down.
David has been a software engineer since the late 90s. The last eleven years have focused on engineering leadership. Currently, he is the Engineering Manager for Publishing Architecture at Nine Entertainment.
He’s passionate about fostering positive engineering cultures and for 10 years coordinated SydCSS, one of Sydney’s largest and most popular tech meetups.
David Lewis
A results-driven technology leader with a strategic mindset focused on driving commercial success, David Lewis excels at cultivating high-performing teams through empowering individuals, setting clear objectives, fostering open communication, and embedding an understanding of the business vision. With a 22-year track record in the tech industry, they have spent the past eight years in influential leadership positions.