VP Engineering × AI / SaaS: How the Conversation Is Moving

BullishCameron speaks with clear confidence about LaunchDarkly's roadmap ('the dark factory is real... we're close to that') and his own excitement building the agent control framework.

Dev Interrupted — How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi (#283) · Jul 2026

MixedEmily expresses genuine uncertainty about the next 12-18+ months ('I can't predict the next five months, much less the next five years'), balancing excitement with acknowledgment that teams/ratios/roles are all unknown.

The Product Experience (Mind the Product) — A deep dive into the state of product in 2026 — Emily Tate (VP Product) · Jun 2026

BullishHe notes manufacturing is 'coming back to North America' and framing maintenance as shifting from cost center to cost saver, painting a positive macro backdrop with some labor shortage caveats.

Manufacturing Happy Hour — How AI, CMMS, and Digital Logs Are Changing Maintenance on the Factory Floor | MaintainX | Ep. 281 · May 2026

MixedDiscusses the 'SAS apocalypse'/'Sassacre' and beaten-up valuations, but notes 'valuations are sort of starting to fix themselves' — a mixed, hedged view of the broader market.

Dev Interrupted — How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi (#283) · Jul 2026

SkepticalDiscussion centers on tariff volatility, rising costs (oil, gas), and 'ever-changing tariffs' creating ripple effects, though framed as manageable with the right approach.

Supply Chain Now — How Digital Twins and AI Are Transforming Supply Chain Decisions · Jun 2026

BullishFrames software engineering's shift to agentic 'dark factories' and vendor consolidation as an inevitable, largely positive evolution despite acknowledging current fragility and pain points.

Dev Interrupted — How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi (#283) · Jul 2026

MixedMixed outlook on identity/security industry: excitement about agentic identity as 'the big next problem' and CISOs gaining board influence, balanced against warnings of 'agent debt', ownerless agents, and immature governance ('we haven't…

Security Weekly — Hungry? We talk Smoked Meat, Poutine, and Bagel - also, Identiverse Interviews! - ESW #467 · Jul 2026

SkepticalCybersecurity industry critiqued as failing to 'do the hard work' despite having frameworks, teams silent about failures, and boards now willing to accept more risk—more concern than optimism about the sector's trajectory.

Security Weekly — Enterprise Browers in the Age of AI as CISO Role Changes and Leaders Harness Stress - BSW #452 · Jun 2026

BullishCites concrete wins (61% of check-ins AI-written, a 20x cheaper/faster rewrite) and enthusiasm for agent control, tempered by skepticism that 'there is no actual creativity in AI' and concerns about non-determinism.

Dev Interrupted — How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi (#283) · Jul 2026

MixedAI is framed as both a powerful tool (accelerating collaboration, enabling forward-deployed engineering, fighting fraud with AI) and a serious risk (deepfakes, prompt injection, agents as insider threats, non-deterministic behavior)…

Security Weekly — Hungry? We talk Smoked Meat, Poutine, and Bagel - also, Identiverse Interviews! - ESW #467 · Jul 2026

SkepticalAI is cited mainly as lowering the bar for attackers (cheap GPU rental cracking SHA-256 hashes, 'degenerate AI craze'), with only incidental positive mentions of AI-assisted coding/agents, skewing the tone skeptical.

Security Weekly — Cloud Visibility, Fortibleed, hacking things the easy way - Sandy Bird - PSW #932 · Jun 2026

BullishEnthusiastically describes building new paradigms (agent control framework, dark factory, MCP as new UX) and reframes engineers as goal-seekers/frontline managers, treating rapid tool adoption as an unambiguous positive.

Dev Interrupted — How to see in the dark factory | LaunchDarkly's Cameron Etezadi (#283) · Jul 2026

MixedSpeakers value innovation (shift-left, developer speed, intent-based policies) but stress it must be balanced against complexity and risk, giving a mixed/hedged view overall.

CISO Series — Should You Use Native or 3rd Party Cloud Management Tools? · Apr 2026

SkepticalChinese manufacturing prowess and clever tech (fake certs, encoded app stores, influencer marketing, MLM-style distribution) are described as impressively sophisticated but used for insidious, malicious purposes, casting innovation as a…

Darknet Diaries — The Insidious True Purpose of These Cheap Chinese Streaming Boxes 📺 Darknet Diaries Ep 172 SuperBox · Apr 2026