Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

610: It’s Okay Not to Use AI

Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Show Notes

Sami swims against the tide of AI with Emma Barnes, CEO of Consonance, as they examine the more controversial idea of being anti-AI.

Emma explains why her publishing business is anti-AI and the benefits of coding for yourself, how AI is having a negative impact on different aspects of our daily lives, why big corporations are hyping it up so much, and Sami asks what is it about AI that keeps drawing people in.

—

Our guest for this episode has been Emma Barnes, if you’d like to get in touch with Emma you can do so through LinkedIn, or by emailing her directly - [email protected]

If you’re interested in using Emma’s publishing services or wish to be a part of the team, check out her business Consonance, or check out her weekly live stream to stay up to date with the world of publishing.

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.

Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

© 2026 thoughtbot, inc. Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

More from Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Oct 22, 2026

Chad talks with Eric Ries, Co-Founder and Director at Virgil, about his recent book “Incorruptible”, why good companies go bad, and how great companies stay great.

Oct 15, 2026

Will is back in the host seat this week to chat with Mike Perham, the creator of Sidekiq - a full-featured background job framework for all Ruby applications.

Oct 8, 2026

This guest has been a long time coming, Sami is joined on the thoughtbot couch this week by the one and only Lord Tim Clement-Jones, LibDeb Lord Spokesperson for AI and Digital.

Oct 1, 2026

Chad is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Brandon Swalve, CEO of AppSignal (when Chad is a big fan, you know it’s an app you’ve got to check out).

Sep 24, 2026

Sami is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Ed Woodcock, Director and Consultant Developer at Bannermedia Ltd.

See all episodes →