If you prefer to code alone, you might be tempted to buy in to Copilot's claim that it's "Your AI Pair Programmer." You may even feel relief that technology has finally given you a way to get the benefits of pairing without all of that awkward conversation.

But this is a placebo—and a costly one.

Copilot is a tool, your teammate is a human, and pair and ensemble programming is a human activity. Using a generative AI tool when you write code can be helpful, and it can pretend to be a fellow engineer. But no matter how well it approximates this, it will never replace coding with a person. 

In this talk, we’ll explore why human pairing matters, and why it's different. This won't be theoretical—I've worked in pairs and ensembles for years, I'm well-versed in AI-assisted coding, and I've got stories about both.

You’ll leave with a renewed appreciation for human teamwork—and ideas on how to make AI tools work with your team, not instead of it.