Ctrl Alt Dev

Hosts: Sean Sale and Paul Rhodes Guest: Pete Morgan (Founder, Monkey Pants Productions) Welcome to Episode 30 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! It is a massive milestone for us as we officially celebrate over a year of the podcast. To mark the occasion, we are flipping the script. Every week, someone makes us sound like we actually know what we're doing, and today, we're putting him on the other side of the microp...

Hosts: Sean Sale and Paul Rhodes Guest: Matthew Turner (Practicing human rights barrister, Founder and CEO of NovaWIL) Welcome to Episode 29 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! In today's "Guest Interview" format, Sean and Paul sit down with Matthew Turner, a practicing human rights barrister who built and launched an AI-powered legal platform with absolutely zero coding experience. Matthew shares his journey from h...

Welcome to Episode 28 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Today, Sean and Paul strip back the format for a fireside "Deep Dive" into the reality of AI-assisted software development. With tools like Replit, Lovable, and Bolt, founders are building working software faster than ever. But there is a massive hidden gap between a shiny prototype and a production-ready application. Because AI sounds incredibly confident an...

Hosts: Sean Sale and Paul Rhodes Guest: Craig Hellen (Managing Director & Co-Founder, Bex Media) Welcome to Episode 27 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! After rushing off mid-recording in Episode 25, Craig Hellen of Bex Media is back. This time, we step away from the creative outputs of AI (like voiceovers and video) and look under the hood at how Craig is using AI as a deep "operating layer" across finance, opera...

Hosts: Sean Sale and Paul Rhodes Welcome to Episode 26 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Today, we are stripping back the format—no guests, no slides—to discuss one of the most unexpected and life-changing AI experiments we've built to date: the AI Meal Planner. What started as a simple test to make cooking easier has morphed into a system that slashes food waste, completely eliminates duplicate supermarket purcha...

Hosts:  Sean Sale and Paul Rhodes Guest:   Craig Hellen (Managing Director & Co-Founder, Bex Media) Welcome to Episode 25 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Today, we are stepping away from software development and looking at AI adoption through a completely different lens: the creative agency. We are joined by Craig Hellen, Managing Director of Gloucestershire-based video production and motion graphics company, Be...

Welcome back to Part 2 of our fantastic conversation with Luke Passmore from Yellow Box Software! Last week we talked about the difference between building software that looks good in a demo versus software that survives in the real world. Today, we go even deeper into the messy reality of tech implementation. We explore Luke's "red flag" sheet for new clients, the real value of AI in manufacturin...

Welcome to Episode 24 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Today, we are stepping away from the high-level future-gazing and bringing it right back down to earth with our guest, Luke Passmore of Yellow Box Software. Luke specializes in building bespoke software solutions that turn the chaos of spreadsheets, human memory, and WhatsApp groups into structured, visible operations for SMEs—particularly in the manufacturin...

Welcome to Episode 23 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Today, Sean and Paul tackle the pricing and business model crisis that is quietly terrifying the professional services industry. If AI just compressed your six-week project into 60 seconds, charging by the hour is actively making you poorer. In this brutally honest episode, Paul opens up the Green Gorilla Apps (GGA) playbook to explain why they just slaughter...

Welcome back to Part 2 of our deep dive into Claude Cowork! Building on the use cases from Part 1, Sean shares his real-world results using Cowork for CRM follow-ups and weekly planning. We then pit Cowork against the major alternatives like ChatGPT 5.4, Google Gemini, and open-source frameworks, breaking down the honest strengths and weaknesses of each option for an SMB. We also introduce a new "...

Welcome to Episode 22 of CTRL-ALT-DEV! With our recent future-gazing retrospective officially wrapped, we are kicking off a brand-new two-part series focused on deep dives into specific AI tools. No hype, no landing page fluff, just real, in-the-trenches use cases. Today, we are looking at a tool that has fundamentally changed the way we work: Claude Cowork. We explore how to shift your mindset fr...

Welcome back to the continuation of our journey into 2036! Sean and Paul finish their massive deep dive into the sci-fi future of work, life, and society . From Amazon "stress-testing the future of work" by replacing thousands of developer hours with AI, to the uncomfortable realities of frictionless AI companionship, this episode leaves no stone unturned . Plus, the hosts wrap up with a massive s...

Welcome to a very special milestone episode of CTRL-ALT-DEV! Not only are we officially launching the podcast on YouTube, but we are skipping the day-to-day AI hype and jumping exactly 10 years into the future. Using informed imagination, Sean and Paul explore what life, work, health, transport, and money will actually look like in 2036. If autonomous systems keep accelerating, what kind of societ...

In this episode of Ctrl Alt Dev, Sean and Paul dive into the current state of AI adoption in businesses, debunking hype and sharing practical advice for leveraging AI effectively. They explore how AI is becoming infrastructure, the pitfalls of adding complexity, and the importance of focusing on operational friction to generate real value. Key Topics: The shift from AI as a curiosity to core infra...

In this episode Paul and Sean explore the transformative impact of AI on business, technology, and society, highlighting how AI is shifting from a tool to an ambient, autonomous layer that influences every aspect of our digital environment. They discuss the implications for developers, leaders, and regulators in navigating this rapid evolution. Key Topics AI as a force multiplier for intelligence...

Discover how seasoned software engineer and MSP veteran Tim Winstanley leverages over 40 years of experience to navigate the rapid shifts in AI and software development. He shares practical insights on integrating AI into business processes, evolving from traditional coding to managing AI-driven automation, and the importance of experience in an era of commoditized code. In this episode:   Tim's j...

In this episode, Paul Rhodes discusses the importance of overcoming the trust gap in AI and how businesses can start integrating AI into their operations. He emphasizes the need for incremental changes and finding quick wins rather than attempting to automate everything at once. The conversation also touches on the evolving role of AI in coding and traditional businesses, using examples from Spoti...

In this episode, with Sean Sale fighting off a bug, Paul Rhodes and Kurt Peniket dive deep into the practical applications of automation in business, focusing on how AI tools can streamline operations and enhance efficiency. They discuss a listener's question about analyzing large data sets from recorded meetings and explore the importance of transcription and context management for AI. The conver...

In this episode, Sean and Paul discuss the challenges and opportunities that AI presents for businesses in 2026. They reflect on the fears surrounding AI and the importance of embracing it as a tool for productivity. The conversation covers the 10-80-10 rule, which emphasizes the role of humans in strategy and quality control while AI handles the execution. They also explore practical applications...

In this episode, we explore the hidden costs associated with AI infrastructure, including energy consumption, water usage, and the impact on local communities and housing. The conversation delves into the myths surrounding AI's environmental benefits, the reality of data centers, and the regulatory challenges faced by the tech industry. We also discuss the race for AI dominance and its implication...

Automation isn't just about saving time. It's about Revenue Protection and Compliance. If your data sits still, your money sits still. Tina Cook (Founder, ZappingAI) joins us to expose the 'Tech Debt' that is silently killing your margins. We discuss why businesses are drowning in admin, and why you cannot automate your way out of chaos. We move beyond basic tools to discuss Agentic AI : building...

In this episode, Paul and Sean discuss the evolving role of AI in the workplace, addressing common concerns about job displacement and the nature of work. They explore how AI is transforming tasks, the types of jobs most vulnerable to automation, and the importance of human oversight. The conversation emphasizes the need for upskilling and integrating AI tools into daily workflows, providing pract...

Paul & Sean are back with another great episode, looking at the world of AI. The conversation delves into the alarming biases present in modern AI hiring tools, highlighting how these systems favor certain demographics over others. They  discuss the statistical disparities in name recognition based on race and gender, revealing a troubling trend in the hiring process that reflects broader societal...

In this episode, we explore the transformative power of automation in small businesses with Steph Middleton-Foster from Configure Me This. Steph shares her journey from a virtual assistant to an automation consultant, emphasising the importance of operational efficiency and the role of technology in streamlining processes. We discuss common mistakes businesses make when implementing automation, th...

In this conversation, Paul and Sean explore the evolving landscape of work in relation to AI. They discuss the jobs most at risk due to AI advancements, the importance of human connection, and the need for professionals to adapt and level up their skills. The discussion also touches on the blue ocean strategy, emphasizing the necessity for businesses to carve out unique spaces in a rapidly changin...