Everyone is talking about AI turning software delivery into a "dark factory" - an automated floor where bots hum and human intervention fades away. But what happens when you actually build one?

This talk strips away the hype to explore the reality of the AI factory mindset: what accelerates delivery, where pipelines break, and the hidden toll AI automation takes on engineering teams. Drawing on recent 2026 AI benchmark research, we analyze the widening productivity gap between early adopters and struggling teams.

We will break down the three pillars of a sustainable AI software factory:
* The Good: CFO-level delivery metrics and friction removal strategies that double deployment velocity.
* The Bad: The bottlenecks AI creates - from endless code review queues to insidious quality issues and technical debt.
* The Ugly: The impact on DevEx, developer cognitive load, and team health when automation outpaces human oversight.

Leave this session with actionable adjustments for your ADLC so you can scale velocity without burning out your best engineers.