Inside AI with Dan Rumney, Software Engineer at Sutro
There’s a lot of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) in the world of AI. Not only is it the most radical shift in technology in many years, it’s moving incredibly fast, leading many to be concerned about the development. Based on that, we decided to go a little deeper to talk to the team here at Sutro — so that you get to hear from people directly working at a well funded AI company, to hear their own thoughts.
We’re starting today with Dan Rumney — so let’s get into it.
Hi Dan! Tell us about yourself, your background and what you do at Sutro.
Hello! I’m a software engineer here at Sutro. I’ve been writing code professionally for over 20 years and I’ve worked at just about every size of company at various stages of funding in my career. I’ve also worked in languages ranging from Assembler to ZX BASIC (shout out to my Sinclair Spectrum crew!). Originally from the UK, I moved to the US in 2006 and have lived in Detroit, NYC, Austin, and now live just north of Chicago.
When did you first get interested in the AI Space?
I’ve had a passing interest in the field of AI throughout my career. Concepts like Fuzzy Logic and Genetic Algorithms fascinate me. The idea of creating a system with emergent properties stemming from a simple set of rules appeals to my background in Physics.
In the past, this interest has been purely academic, as I haven’t been in a position where AI was the right tool for the job, so it’s exciting to be in a position to really get my hands dirty with it.
At Sutro, our goal is to radically simplify and democratise app development using the power of AI. Why is this important to you?
I think one of the greatest tragedies of human experience is when an individual’s potential exceeds their opportunity, especially when the gap between the two is needlessly wide.
Software is an incredibly powerful tool, but it currently requires a significant amount of time and effort to become proficient enough to create whatever you want.
Some of the best ideas come from people whose expertise and experience are not in software engineering. Democratising app development is a way to close the gap between inspiration and implementation… I can’t wait to see what our users come up with when they bring their vision to Sutro and make it real.
What are some of the interesting applications of AI to you right now?
The ability of software to solve a problem well is often limited by engineers’ ability to understand and express the problem sufficiently well that a computer can get to work on it. What makes AI interesting is the ability to address problems that are “squishy” — difficult to describe to a computer, but often simple to describe to a human.
Sifting through structured data (like tables, graphs, numerical measurements) is easy for normal software. With AI, we can start to sift through unstructured data (like pictures, videos, documents) to great ends. AI can help review cancer screenings, clarify legal documents, detect harmful content online, to name just a few applications.
Like any popular emerging technology, AI is often misunderstood. How do we help address concerns that people have? For example — people may worry that what we’re doing might replace software engineers — but you’re a software engineer in the space.
I think there are two key components to addressing concerns.
The first is education. With all the hype surrounding AI at the moment, it can be hard to know exactly what is going on. AI can seem daunting at first, especially with the abundance of acronyms (LLM, GPT, AGI, NLP…). Thankfully, all of these can be sufficiently understood by anyone if the right person takes the time to explain them in the right way. I think that falls to people like us, who are working with AI, to strive to inform the world honestly and clearly.
The second is by sincere engagement with these concerns. Simply waving away the worries that folks have does nobody any good.
Are we going to replace software engineers with AI? What would it look like if we did? When might that happen? These are all important questions to address. Luckily, we have mountains of historical data about the impacts of disruptive technologies. On the one hand, new technologies can render jobs and even whole industries obsolete. On the other hand, new technologies can bring about new opportunities.
The challenge is to ensure that those new opportunities are made available by those who are dispossessed by progress.
How do you keep up with the latest developments in an area that is moving so quickly?
Being an old, salty dog in the industry, I’ve seen the wax and wane of many a development in fast-paced areas. I’ve found that being a little behind the bleeding edge is the place to be. A little healthy skepticism helps when it comes to assessing the Cool New Thing as part of a commercial decision.
In my free time, however, I’ll dive in and tinker with anything that catches my eye. I’m particularly interested in Home Automation and that has driven me to learn about all sorts of things that my day job would never expose me to.
Finally — what’s a fun fact about yourself?
I have a single IMDB credit for voicing an evil 8-bit alien pig monster terrorizing two grown men.
Thanks Dan for the interview — you can follow him on LinkedIn here.
Are you interested in trying Sutro today? We’re operating a paid partnership program at the moment which will give you early access. The cost can vary, but at present it will be a minimum of $1000/month.
If you’re interested, please join our waitlist at sutro.xyz — after filling it in, you’ll be prompted to schedule a call with our CEO, Tomas.
You can also follow us on Twitter and join our Discord for more updates!
Let’s level the playing field.
Team Sutro.
