From April 13th through 16th — and a couple of days before, because it’s in Austin — I’m going to be at the Arc of AI conference! Over the next little while, I’m going to be posting articles about Arc of AI, in case you’re wondering what the conference is about and whether you should go.
In this article, I’ll talk about my favorite title from all the talks on the Arc of AI agenda.
The talk: We’re all using AI, But We’re Not Enjoying It
When your talk happens on the last time slot at the end of a three-day conference (four days, if you’re also going to do one of the workshops), you need to put in some extra effort to get the attendees to show up and not disappear for the local sights (Arc of AI’s in Austin) or make a beeline for the airport.
Brent Laster, President and Founder of Tech Skills Transformations, is giving a number of talks — and a workshop! — at Arc of AI, and he has one of the closing talks. He has a talk in one of those last speaking slots on the Thursday at 4:00 p.m., and it has what I think is the most interesting title on the agenda:
We’re all using AI, But We’re Not Enjoying It
Here’s the abstract:
We’re All Using AI, But We’re Not Enjoying It takes an honest look at a growing gap in the workplace: AI adoption is skyrocketing, yet frustration, confusion, and uneven results are just as common. This talk explores why AI so often feels harder than it should—poorly integrated tools, unclear workflows, unrealistic expectations, cognitive overload, and the pressure to “keep up.” Looking at patterns seen across teams learning to use AI effectively, we’ll break down the practical barriers that make everyday AI work feel tedious instead of empowering. More importantly, we’ll outline a set of achievable shifts—better task design, lighter mental models, context-first prompting, workflow pairing, and small but meaningful guardrails—that can restore a sense of control and clarity.
I need to figure out how I can attend both Brent’s talk and my former Tucows coworker Leonid Igolnik’s talk (which he’s giving with Baruch Sadogursky), Back to the Future of Software: How to Survive the AI Apocalypse with Tests, Prompts, and Specs…
Great Scott! The robots are coming for your job—and this time, they brought unit tests. Join Doc and Marty from the Software Future (Baruch and Leonid) as they race back in time to help you fight the machines using only your domain expertise, a well-structured prompt, and a pinch of Gherkin. This keynote is your survival guide for the AI age: how to close the intent-to-prompt chasm before it swallows your roadmap, how to weaponize the Intent Integrity Chain to steer AI output safely, and why the Art of the Possible is your most powerful resistance tool. Expect:
• Bad puns
• Good tests
• Wild demosThe machines may be fast. But with structure, constraint, and a little time travel, you’ll still be the one writing the future.
Decisions, decisions…
Want to find out more about and register for Arc of AI?
Once again, Arc of AI will take place from Monday, April 13 through Friday, April 16, with the workshop day taking place on Monday, and the main conference taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Want to see the schedule? Here’s the Arc of AI schedule page.
- Want to know who’s speaking? Here’s the Arc of AI speakers page. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end, because you might see someone familiar!
- Want to register? Here’s the Arc of AI registration page.
Arc of AI tickets are BOGO!
From Arc of AI’s registration page:
You read that right! For each conference ticket you purchase, you get one free ticket. This applies only to conference tickets and not for workshops.
Tampa Bay AI Meetup is a community partner of Arc of AI, and we can help you save $50 off the ticket price! Just use the discount code 