The Most Excited, The Most Terrified: Making Peace with AI

Description AI has left many developers caught between excitement and existential dread. One minute it feels like the most empowering technology we've ever seen; the next, it feels like it might make everything we've spent our careers learning obsolete. In this honest and personal talk, Phil Whittaker shares his journey from panic and uncertainty to a more balanced perspective on what AI means for our work, our identity, and our future. Exploring the fears, opportunities, and realities of working alongside increasingly capable AI systems, this is a story about adaptation, agency, and why the human parts of our jobs may matter more than ever. Profile Phil Whittaker is a Staff Engineer (AI) at Umbraco, where he works on implementing agentic-AI and development of the new Umbraco MCP Servers - the bridge that connects AI agents to real CMS actions such as content editing, media management, and workflow automation. With more than 25 years of experience spanning software engineering, agency leadership, and CTO roles, Phil brings a practical and architectural mindset to Umbraco’s evolving AI strategy. A five-time Umbraco MVP, Phil has been deeply involved in the Umbraco community for over a decade. He has spent around 10 years helping to organise both Umbraco Manchester and Umbraco Leeds, supporting local developers and agencies through talks, meetups, and community initiatives. He is also a co-founder of Practically AI, the Manchester meetup focused on real-world applications of artificial intelligence, and was part of the organising team behind the successful Umbraco in the City 2025 : Manchester conference. Phil is passionate about empowering developers and content teams to harness emerging AI capabilities responsibly and effectively — balancing innovation with transparency, safety, and open-source principles. At Codegarden, he brings a grounded, real-world perspective on what’s possible when modern AI meets a collaborative CMS ecosystem.