Welcoming developers and tech decision-makers from around the globe, WeAreDevelopers World Congress 2022 took place in Berlin on the 14th and 15th of June, presenting disruptive insights into the future of tech. As a part of the media partners, we (Artineraire) have collected information about technology, the creative industry and the impact of WeAreDevelopers and its community.
Focusing on how to get more people to use art and creative tools, we need to ask ourselves what kind of a balance we want between creators and consumers. When you think about it, most designers wouldn’t be able to design the latest apps and games without the support of developers and that’s obvious. We need both sides involved, so that everyone benefits from the tools while also creating new ways for us to use them. Artists don’t have the time or resources to build their own apps, marketing materials, websites, etc. And the overview includes changes of the ways of how creators work and how the artificial intelligence will affect the creativity. By the way, one paragraph of this article was written by an AI. Try to guess which one.
ABOUT THE EVENT. AI ON THE SPOTLIGHT
Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub, officially opened the congress with a keynote providing exclusive insights into AI and cloud-based software development, including early glimpses of what the world can expect from the software of tomorrow. Dohmke noted, “There will be a greater change in the next 5 years than in the last 40 years, as we’re entering the fundamental transformation of software development as we know it. But most importantly, I believe it will make developers everywhere in the world happier.” One of the most globally recognized experts on software and Co-founder of Stack Overflow Joel Spolsky claimed WeAreDevelopers World Congress to be his personal favorite event. In his keynote, he reflected on how the world wide web got “messed up” and explained how developers can fix it by building products in, what he calls, a “decommodified space.”
“It’s fantastic to see the world’s most influential tech masterminds sharing their expertise and insights with the community and vice versa, showing how Developers are building and shaping the future of our society. WeAreDevelopers World Congress has been an incredible success“, said Sead Ahmetovic, CEO and Co-founder of WeAreDevelopers. In relation to that quote, the event also featured a great line of speakers like Bjarne Stroustrup, Inventor of C++, Håkon Wium Lie, Inventor of CSS, John Romero, award-winning Game Creator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein, Toju Duke, Responsible AI Programme Manager at Google, Miško Hevery, Inventor of Angular/AngularJS, Douglas Crockford, JavaScript Author, Inventor of JSON, Wei Hu, Senior Vice President at Oracle, and more.
ART & CREATIVE INDUSTRY IN THE MIND OF THE DEVELOPERS
We published a survey on the app of the event and asked the community about their interests in the field of art and the creative industry. Based on the “endless” queue for an autograph by John Romero or Rapyd’s desire to contribute to the entertainment value of the event, developers love the creative industry! But the idea is to delve deeper into how developers actually work with clients and the creative community. During last year’s edition of SlavConf we made a list with problems on which the solutions should be found sooner. As a result of the survey we can say that many technology specialists are interested in the specific areas:
Game Development
Art Tech
Architecture
Music Tech
Al Journalism
MISCOMMUNICATION WITH DEVELOPERS
Developers face a lot of challenges when it comes to getting their work recognized by creatives, academics, beginners or the media. If you want to help them, the first step is to start building a relationship with them. Start by reaching out to one or two people in the community and seeing if you can get their help in spreading the word about your work. You might also want to consider becoming a pro bono consultant for an app or software you want to use. Maintaining a positive and supportive atmosphere is absolutely key for developers and they can make all the difference.
BUT DON’T ASSUME EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS TECH
Often, as a creative, you’ll find yourself working with developers who don’t know how to simplify or explain the technology you’re using. There’s nothing wrong with this, since you’re both working in different mediums. But it’s important to remember that developers have the same limitations when it comes to understanding the intricacies of technology. If you find yourself frustrated by the gap in understanding, try to remember that it’s not a personal attack. For example, we asked Marcel Vinicius Kohls, Senior Backend Engineer at Nord Security, to explain VPN in the simplest way possible and he said, “Imagine a teacher from Brazil who consumes content from Europe and must use VPN to be safe or to localize the services. VPN removes the restrictions. This is the most practical usage of it.”
EXPECT TRANSPARENCY FROM DEVELOPERS
A key issue for developers is finding the time to work on projects. As creatives, we have the same problem. Developers often have a limited set of tools at their disposal, as well as a limited amount of time to work on a project. This can lead them to choose the wrong tool for the job. We are currently working on several interviews on this topic.
CONCLUSION
As a creative person, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to work with a developer. There are many benefits to doing this, but you also need to be mindful of the challenges that come with it. Luckily, these issues can be solved with a little effort and understanding on both sides. By ensuring developers feel valued, being transparent, and helping them find the best tools for the job.
GET INVOLVED
SlavConf Virtuality will be held at Marketplace in virtual format on 28th and 29th of October. This year we are focusing on technology and business ethics. You can register for free: marketplace.slavconf.com
SlavConf is an annual international conference for creative industry and pop culture