Modern CTO

He’s 31, and nobody he knows is having kids. Tech is to blame, but what’s the solution? Today, we're talking to Connor Leahy, US Director at ControlAI. We discuss why plummeting birth rates look eerily similar to what happens when zoo animals stop breeding, how ideas can spread and cause real harm the same way diseases do, and why the safest path with superintelligence might be to ban it outright...

Developers, how confident are you in the future of your job? Today, we're catching up with Hrishi Dixit, cofounder and CTO of Autonomy Finance, about what actually happens when you hand the keys to AI in a regulated industry — why the first pass of AI-generated code is never shippable, how a commingled client data hallucination can end a company overnight, and why the engineers who survive the AI...

What happens when the worst among us get their hands on the most powerful tools? Today, we're talking to Zach Goldberg, CEO at Gruntwork, about the messy edges of AI adoption. We discuss why "vibe coding" has created a new category of disposable, single-purpose software that never would have existed before, why the line between AI you can trust to read data and AI you can trust to write to product...

Confidence and readiness are actually NOT the same thing. Today, we're talking to Daniel Morris, CPO at Sinch, about why 81% of mature companies roll back their AI programs even as 89% of leaders claim they're fully prepared, how the shift from SMS to rich messaging is rewriting the rules for how brands connect with customers, and why the next evolution of authentication might mean your phone sile...

This is how Snapchat sets itself apart in the social media space: they’re not a social media company. Today, we're talking to Saral Jain, SVP and Head of Engineering at Snapchat, about how one of tech's most underestimated companies is quietly outpacing giants. We discuss why Snapchat has always refused to call itself a social media company and what that distinction means for every product decisio...

What if you didn’t have to solve problems? You can just remove them entirely. Today, we're talking to Steve Francis, CEO at Sidero Labs, about why the most dangerous thing running in your infrastructure might be the operating system itself. We discuss how eliminating features rather than adding them is the real path to security, why the promise of multi-cloud portability turned out to be a lesson...

Understanding these key points is what actually moves the needle on AI gains. Today, we're talking to Kyle Lagunas, analyst and founder at Kyle & Co, and Allyn Bailey, senior director of communications at SmartRecruiters, about why AI momentum in HR is stalling and what's actually moving the needle. We discuss why the organizations leading on AI aren't doing anything flashy, how the most boring re...

We’re putting more and more trust into AI. Will it all blend into one app? Today, we're talking to Jacques Klick, Director of Market Strategy & Product Marketing at Sinch. We discuss why the app store era is quietly ending and what replaces it, how a 62% enterprise AI adoption rate is hiding a 74% rollback problem, and what RCS actually is and why it might be the most underutilized channel in mark...

Would you live with a humanoid robot? Could you beat one in a fight? Today, we're talking to Dar Sleeper, VP of Design, Product, and Marketing at 1X, the company building Neo, a humanoid robot designed to live and work alongside humans in the home. We discuss why the home is actually the most strategic beachhead in humanoid robotics, how world models are collapsing the gap between robots that foll...

His company policy is: there will be absolutely no human-written code. Today, we're talking to Trevor Hinesley, Cofounder and CTO at Soundstripe. We discuss the five levels of AI-written code and what it actually looks like to operate at the highest ones, why Trevor's team has a strict policy of zero human-written code, how the "dark factory" concept is reshaping what engineers actually do, and wh...

Product managers are FORGETTING that they’re problem solvers. Today, we're talking to Marty Cagan, product management author and founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group. We discuss why most tech companies are unknowingly running a model that almost guarantees shipping things that don't matter, how AI is simultaneously exposing and accelerating that problem, why the real bottleneck was never yo...

Can today’s technology really prevent tomorrow’s diseases? Today, we're talking to Eriona Hysolli, biologist and co-founder of Manhattan Genomics. We discuss why preventing genetic disease before birth is a more powerful idea than treating it in adulthood, how the UK quietly pioneered a procedure that most of the world still considers off-limits, why the loudest opposition to gene editing often co...

Understanding the real world is the biggest potential advantage of AI. Today, we're talking to Campbell Brown, CEO and cofounder of PredictHQ, about the layer of real-world intelligence that AI models are still missing. We discuss why 65% of unexplained demand spikes come down to something most businesses completely ignore, how a New Zealand car rental company became the data backbone for Uber and...

If you understand this about your brain, you’ll be unstoppable. Today, we're talking to Moran Cerf, neuroscientist and professor, about why the hidden signals shaping human behavior have more in common with ants and fish than we'd like to admit, how smell — not vision — may be the most underestimated force behind the decisions we make, why brains in the same room quietly synchronize whether their...

If you’re trying to get ahead and you’re the best at your job, then we have bad news for you. Today, we're talking to executive coach Bill Tingle. We discuss why being the best at your job is actually holding you back, how executive presence goes far deeper than confidence or gravitas, and why building the right relationships matters more than any result you'll ever deliver. All of this right here...

Every product and piece of art you love is a ripoff…and that’s a good thing. Today, we're talking to Michael Grinich, founder of WorkOS. We discuss why copying great work is a sign of maturity rather than weakness, how the best builders draw inspiration from wildly different industries, and why the most enduring motivation in tech is really just a form of suffering. All of this right here, right n...

If you’re not arguing with your team, you might be making a big mistake. Today, we're bringing you timeless advice from Brendan Wovchko, CTO at Ramsey Solutions. We discuss why most organizations have a shared urgency problem and what to do about it, how the "act or argue" principle can transform your team culture, and why the best technologists are still driven by mission instead of money or stat...

Here's what decisive AI leadership ACTUALLY looks like in practice. Today, we're talking to Dan Cardinal, CTO at Beghou, about how he's using tools like Blitzy to achieve 80% autonomous project completion at scale. We discuss how caution in sensitive industries like healthcare shapes AI adoption, why human-in-the-loop controls are non-negotiable for production AI at scale, and how one skeptic went...

How do we decide that a project is actually finished in the age of AI? Today, we're talking to Iccha Sethi, SVP of Engineering at Vanta. We discuss why software is never truly done in the age of AI, how engineering leaders can manage model drift through evaluation frameworks, and why the top 1% of engineers all share one unexpected trait. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcas...

Employee experience is in shambles today. How can you put it back together? Today, we're talking to Jacob Morgan, Author and Futurist at Future Ready Leadership. We discuss why organizations must return to the basics of employee experience in an AI-driven world, how leaders need to adopt five key archetypes to stay relevant, and why designing for flexibility inside your organization is the future...

Don’t be afraid to make yourself entirely…replaceable? Today, we're talking to Hrishi Dixit, Principal at Gordian Labs. We discuss how to make yourself redundant as a tech leader, why culture is the only thing that outlasts you, and how knowing when to get out of the weeds is the mark of a truly great CTO. All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast! To connect with Hrishi, visit...

Here's what integrity under pressure ACTUALLY looks like in practice. Today, we're talking to Jack Tam, SVP of Engineering at Intuit. We discuss why integrity means holding yourself to a high bar even when no one is looking, how a growth mindset and curiosity across disciplines can sustain a 20-year career, and why this is the most exciting time in technology despite the uncertainty AI brings. All...

He learned that he had to leave the room to truly make a difference. Today, we're talking to Tony Martignetti, Executive Coach and Author of Campfire Lessons for Leaders. We discuss why hiding your true self at work leads to burnout, how the three C's of curiosity, compassion, and connection can unlock self-awareness, and why leaving the room to change the room is the ultimate act of courageous le...

Change is faster than ever. Your team needs to ACTUALLY trust you. Today, we're talking to Noah Cantor, Executive Coach. We discuss why most tech leaders receive no training before stepping into leadership roles, how inconsistent leadership styles lead to demotivated and underperforming teams, and why aligning your actions with your core values is the key to reducing stress and leading with clarit...

Everybody’s talking about it… what are you actually going to DO about it? Today, we're talking to Francisco Trindade, Vice President of Software Engineering at Braze. We discuss why AI is shifting the bottleneck from writing code to reviewing it, how companies must invest in restructuring their codebases to unlock 10x productivity gains, and why systems thinking is the key to effective engineering...