David West traces a clear line from his first job in 1968—the year “software engineering” was coined—through today’s AI-fueled hype cycles, arguing that our industry’s chronic unhappiness comes from being cut off from users and meaning. In this candid conversation, he recalls mainframes, 80-column cards, and 24-hour feedback loops that forced upfront thinking, then contrasts that era with modern “vibe coding,” where speed often replaces theory. West contends that most IT failures stem from treating business and technology as separate machines rather than a single complex adaptive system grounded in human integrity, shared context, and story.

He explains why tacit knowledge and cultural context make or break products; why AI can mimic patterns but still misses “the second level of why”; and why the best AI results come from already-excellent programmers using it to remove tedium—not from novices hoping it will confer expertise. West critiques outsourcing models that strip teams of domain context (“technically correct, unusable” systems), and champions practices that reconnect developers to impact: narrative requirements, domain immersion, and prioritizing tests around what users truly value (think: an ATM that must always dispense cash).

Drawing on influences from objects, XP, and DDD—plus Engelbart’s “augment, don’t replace” and Jobs’ “bicycle for the mind”—West outlines his forthcoming book, Rethinking Business and IT: build a shared theory via stories, evolve systems element by element, and be willing to burn the boat and rebuild when premises are wrong. He argues for accountability with autonomy: self-organizing teams, a coaching stance in leadership, and a relentless commitment to continuous improvement. Referencing Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary, he calls for whole-brain thinking—reuniting connection and manipulation—so we can write code that is not just correct, but useful, humane, and meaningful.

About David West:

- https://profwest.substack.com/

About Federico Ramallo ✨👨‍💻🌎

🚀 Software Engineering Manager | 🛠 Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | 🤝 Connecting 🇺🇸 U.S. teams with top nearshore 🌎 LATAM engineers

- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/

- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io

- ✅ https://prevetted.ai

🎙 PreVetted Podcast 🎧📡

- 🎯 https://prevetted.ai/podcast

- 🐦 https://x.com/PrevettedPod

- 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/prevetted-podcast

00:00 Preview

00:38 Introduction and early career

04:36 The early days of programming

07:17 The genesis of David West's manifesto

12:22 The dangers of AI replacing engineers

20:10 Making our people and our world better

23:23 Challenges of outsourcing

32:51 Manifesto: Rethinking Business and IT

35:57 Learning and starting over

40:39 Changes to fix the industry

42:41 How to be better people