Six She Codes community members took the stage at DDD Perth this year. And they shared everything from AI-powered butterflies to automation dilemmas, LEGO robots to cloud science. Here’s what they spoke about!
Jo Minney, Nina Karisik, and Kate Kirwin beam after wowing the room at DDD Perth (Kate and Nina proudly rocking their custom MadeApt dresses)
Jo Minney — Why aren’t you usability testing?
Jo appeared in her trademark hot pink to deliver a simple reminder: we are not the user. If we want to grow as developers, Jo says we need to constantly challenge our assumptions and focus on the real people in our target audiences.
Her anecdotes hit hard — including one about a brilliant student who was locked out of medical school applications because she didn’t have a last name. When required fields in the application form forced her to invent a last name, the system rejected her. Accessibility really matters.
Nina Karisik — Butterfly effect, when AI listens for meaning, not just words
She Codes alum, mentor, and AI advocate Nina Karisik brought some sparkle to the stage with AI-powered butterflies. Part tech demo, part conversation starter, Nina’s talk explored the parts machines can play in patterns, nuance, and meaning.
Controlled by Nina’s voice, the butterflies explored the limits of what’s possible with advances in AI. It was an incredible representation of the interaction between the physical and the digital.
Simon Newton — From ‘human only’ to ‘AI first’: how Canva reimagined tech interviews
Simon pulled back the curtain on how Canva flipped their hiring process from ‘human only’ to ‘AI first’. Instead of testing people on problems they’d never actually face at work, they redesigned interviews to reflect reality. After all, engineers use AI every day, so why pretend otherwise?
Simon reminded us that the question has moved beyond ‘can the candidate code?’ to ‘can they deliver production-ready solutions with AI in the loop?’
Simon loves this topic so much, he blogged about it! Learn how Canva redesigned technical interviews for the AI era.
Martin Abbott + Victor Olet — Doing science in the cloud
Martin and Victor shared their passion project: using high-performance computing for Computational Fluid Dynamics and Molecular Modelling. What started as spare-time curiosity became a talk that showed just how far science has come—from alchemy to computation in the cloud.
Victor and Martin weaved science, technology, and even pop culture to show that the future of tech will be found in creative connection across disciplines.
Victor and Martin nerd out on their passion project
Daniel Fang — Lego + Python + GPT = the journey from dad to superdad
When Daniel’s 12-year-old daughter asked why ChatGPT can’t write Python for LEGO robots, it turned into a six-month adventure of AI, and Python, and LEGO.
In his talk, Daniel showed how natural language prompts can build and control LEGO robots, optimise GPT models for robotics tasks, and even deploy and test creations in the real world. The results were impressive: robots that move on command, no coding required.
The bottom line? Tools like GPT are lowering the barrier to entry, letting the next generation experiment with hardware, software, and imagination all at once.
David Smith — Wait…did I just automate myself out of a job?
David packed the room with his exploration of the promises and pitfalls of automation. There was huge interest in the idea of challenging the adoption of disruptive tech. This ‘dilemma zone,’ where new tech feels slower at first, is fascinating. New tech might feel slower initially, but end up exponentially faster in the long term.
David’s paradox was clear: the more you automate, the more precious human expertise becomes. If the flood of discussion afterwards is anything to go by, this conversation is only just getting started.
David’s talk on automation sparked huge discussion
a moment for joy
Rendle, always one of our firm faves, wrapped up the day in the most hilarious way possible. As always, their locknote gave us so many reasons to smile. And in a world full of negative headlines, Rendle reminded us to focus on humanity, hope, and a touch of whimsy.
Get on stage
If you’ve ever felt the itch to get on stage but don’t know where to start - set aside an hour, grab a cuppa and dive into our free webinar How to Become a Conference Speaker.
Learn how to find your first gig, how to prepare, and how to nail it on the day—from four prolific speakers in the She Codes community!
