Speaking
I talk to engineering and product leaders about what AI is actually doing to the way teams work. I'll do podcasts, conference talks, panels and leadership offsites.
Talks
Distribute capability, centralise the guardrail
Let anyone add capability and hold the line in one place. Most of the guardrails I've built are gates. This is the case for making the guardrail a price instead, and for the places where a gate is still the right call.
Keynote, 30 to 45 minutes. Podcast.
What level does this task deserve?
Two questions I ask before I hand anything to AI: what does it cost if the output is wrong, and can I check what comes back? Score the task and leave the person out of it.
Talk, 25 to 40 minutes. Workshop. Podcast.
Sustainable pace just got faster
Speed won, so why are teams using AI more tired than before? Most of them kept the old process and put AI on top of it, which means doing everything twice. The fix is substitution, and it starts with deciding what to stop.
Talk, 30 minutes. Panel. Podcast.
Hosting a podcast or running an event? Email ben@benstewart.ai with the date, the audience and the format.
For organisers
Short bio, copy as is:
Ben Stewart is VP of Engineering at Skyscanner, based in Glasgow. He writes field reports at benstewart.ai about leading engineering teams through AI: what's working, what's breaking and what the data says, in plain English. He started his career writing SQL in 2006.
Videos
Tech Leaders Forum · Tech Leaders Forum, Edinburgh (CreateFuture) · March 2025