thoughtbot

What you see may not be what you get The characters you see hide a more complex reality.

The characters you see hide a more complex reality.

585: Teachable Moments The host of Giant Robots are back to impart some wisdom as they share some notable failures from their careers and the teachable moments that emerged from them.

Check out the full episode: podcast.thoughtbot.com/585

Could your teammates pick your code out of a lineup?

Tools for AI assisted Software development Reduce friction interacting with AI during software development. These plugins can become your essential tools.

Reduce friction interacting with AI during software development. These plugins can become your essential tools.

This week in #dev (Jul 25, 2025) How to read Rails Guides in your favorite e-reader, and an easy way to let Copilot see your changes.

How to read Rails Guides in your favorite e-reader, and an easy way to let Copilot see your changes.

Quote from Chad Pytel "If you’ve done something wrong in programming and you’re not sure of what you’re doing, you’ll always end up doing more harm than good. The best thing to do is just stop, hit pause and think."

Join the Giant Robots podcast as the hosts share their insights from notable career failures, including AI trust issues, pivotal survey impacts, and early client missteps. Discover their lessons and insights here: podcast.thoughtbot.com/585

Quote from Jed Carlson, "AI is super-powering everything that can be done on a marketplace."

From artist promos to hyperlocal alerts, Jed partnered with thoughtbot to turn data into dynamic, sticky platforms.
👀 See how AI is super-powering marketplace engagement: thoughtbot.com/blog/the-ris...

Quote from Jan Kroschinski "How much better than a human does AI need to be for us to trust it fully?"

What do AI, healthcare, and Buddhism have in common? Check out the latest Giant Robots episode with Jan Kroschinski. Tune in now: podcast.thoughtbot.com/584

Quote from Tess Griffin "The worst talks are the ones where the speaker isn’t invested. If you aren’t excited to talk about it, why should I be excited to hear about it?"

Join Joël Quenneville and Tess Griffin as they reflect on the final RailsConf, their shared love for D&D, and discuss the show's future. Don't miss this heartfelt episode! Listen now: bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/468

What to put in an investor pitch deck (especially for first-time founders) A practical guide for first-time founders building their first investor pitch deck. Learn what to include, what investors actually care about, and how to structure your slides to tell a clear, confident...

A practical guide for first-time founders building their first investor pitch deck. Learn what to include, what investors actually care about, and how to structure your slides to tell a clear, confident story.

A long time coming.... After 13 years of audio-only episodes, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots is going video!

In the first video episode, Chad and Sami dive into the spicy question: When is it a bad idea to build software?

Watch the full episode here: lnkd.in/gExCX66w

Staying agile in regulated industries: how to stay compliant while moving fast Think staying agile isn’t possible in a regulated industry? Whether you’re an early-stage startup or a growing product team, being agile can help you move faster and stay compliant.

Think staying agile isn’t possible in a regulated industry? Whether you're an early-stage startup or a growing product team, being agile can help you move faster and stay compliant.

AI in Focus: Refactoring Rails with AI tools Exploring how Github Copilot can help identify and fix Ruby on Rails AntiPatterns, and the challenges of using AI for complex refactoring tasks.

Exploring how Github Copilot can help identify and fix Ruby on Rails AntiPatterns, and the challenges of using AI for complex refactoring tasks.

Knect mobile experience with thoughtbot logo

Validating an AI opportunity requires a very strategic approach to customer discovery and early technical decisions. Explore how thoughtbot partnered with an early stage founder to find message-market fit and build a prototype in a matter of weeks.

thoughtbot.com/case-studies...

From Rails to JavaScript: A spectrum of integration options Learn how various approaches to integrating JavaScript with Ruby on Rails present unique affordances towards handling presentational concerns and vary in how they support system requirements.

Learn how various approaches to integrating JavaScript with Ruby on Rails present unique affordances towards handling presentational concerns and vary in how they support system requirements.

Quote from Rosa Guiterrez "When AI creates from scratch, it doesn’t just generate code. It frames your thinking. You inherit its model, and with it, an unconscious bias."

Dive into a conversation with Sami and Rosa Gutierrez from 37signals as they explore the frameworks and challenges of remote work and how AI is reshaping development. Tune in here: podcast.thoughtbot.com/583

The hard truth about soft deletion Why soft deletion comes with a higher price than you might think.

Why soft deletion comes with a higher price than you might think.

A thread-safety gotcha with CurrentAttributes How memoization inside CurrentAttributes caused user data to leak between requests.

How memoization inside CurrentAttributes caused user data to leak between requests.

BBB web experience with thoughtbot logo

Discover how thoughtbot empowered the British Business Bank to swiftly adapt and respond to a changing market. Our case study reveals the strategic development of a scalable loan management platform that supported countless businesses through a challenging time.

thoughtbot.com/case-studies...

Quote from Jon Gamble "I picked my team based on trust, values and communication styles. People are the most important thing to me when building a business."

Do you have trust on your team? What about product market fit? Explore trust and creativity plus what goes into building a collaborative team with Jon Gamble, CTO of Fordje. Listen to the full episode now: podcast.thoughtbot.com/582

Enough unix to get by A baseline of commands and concepts that you need to navigate your command-line shell in a professional environment.

A baseline of commands and concepts that you need to navigate your command-line shell in a professional environment.

HBR mobile experience with thoughtbot logo

How does a publishing company with a 100-year pedigree engage an increasingly global and youthful audience with a brand-worthy mobile experience? Check out our case study on the work we did with HBR. thoughtbot.com/case-studies...

Quote from Henrique Cardoso "I like to hear feature requests directly from clients. The why behind the request often gets lost in translation, and that’s usually where the real insight lives."

Henrique Cardoso is reigniting Europe’s Ruby scene with Euruko 2025 in Portugal this September. Hear how he’s building community and a new kind of CRM on this week’s episode of Giant Robots: podcast.thoughtbot.com/581

Quote from Kay Lim

Can Kay Lim solve the toddler mealtime battle? The founder of Heartful Sprout shares how she's helping 12,000+ families conquer picky eating with smart, personalized recipes powered by AI. Check out this week’s Giant Robot’s episode: podcast.thoughtbot.com/580

Cybersecurity Basics: We're Cyber Essentials Recertified in 2025 (How You Can Do It Too) Learn how and why we earned Cyber Essentials recertification—and how your team can meet this cybersecurity baseline too.

Learn how and why we earned Cyber Essentials recertification—and how your team can meet this cybersecurity baseline too.

Quote from Kate Adamson, Co-founder of Folio, "AI gets exciting when complexities are high—where NLP across real-time data makes the difference."

With thoughtbot, Folio is transforming hotel supplier matching with AI that navigates brand constraints and purchasing complexity.

📈 Marketplaces are evolving. Learn more about the trends we are seeing. thoughtbot.com/blog/the-ris...

Quote from Chad Pytel

What products should you NOT build? Chad and Sami explore quirky product ideas and discuss why business success isn't black and white. Listen to the latest episode of Giant Robots now: Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots: 579: podcast.thoughtbot.com/579

When AI doesn't help! ChatGPT ran out of ideas when its suggestion didn’t work. How do you solve a problem when AI can’t?

ChatGPT ran out of ideas when its suggestion didn't work. How do you solve a problem when AI can’t?

Let's break down Model Context Protocol. In this video, Sami gives an easy-to-understand overview of what MCP is in the context of LLMs. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gh3...

What happens when you hand off issues to Copilot as if it were a teammate? In this session, Chad builds on last week’s exploration of how AI can help with fl... Assigning flaky specs to Github Copilot

We're live! www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqSz...