Overview
Peter Stainberger, creator of PSPDFKit and Clawbot, shares his unconventional approach to modern development. He demonstrates how AI-assisted development enables shipping code without traditional code review, merging hundreds of commits daily while maintaining quality through automated testing and AI-generated implementations.
Key Takeaways
- AI can replace traditional code review when combined with comprehensive automated testing - focus on outcome validation rather than code inspection
- The ‘closing the loop’ principle ensures AI-generated code works correctly - always verify that AI implementations actually solve the intended problem
- Modern development velocity can increase dramatically when you trust automated systems over manual processes - Peter merges hundreds of commits daily with confidence
- Burnout recovery may require complete disconnection - taking 3 years away from tech allowed Peter to return with fresh perspective and energy
- Community engagement becomes critical when building AI-powered tools - rapid user feedback loops help identify what actually works versus theoretical capabilities
Topics Covered
- 0:00 - Introduction to Peter Stainberger: Introduction to Peter, creator of Clawbot and PSPDFKit used on 1+ billion devices
- 2:30 - Early Tech Journey: Growing up in rural Austria, first computer exposure at 14, early programming experiments
- 5:00 - University and First Jobs: Working full-time while studying, early professional development experience in Vienna
- 7:30 - Building PSPDFKit: Creating the PDF framework that became ubiquitous across mobile devices
- 10:00 - Burnout and Tech Break: Selling shares and disappearing from tech for 3 years due to burnout
- 12:30 - Return to Tech with AI: Coming back to development with AI-assisted workflows and new methodologies
- 15:00 - Clawbot Development Process: Building the AI personal assistant with unconventional development practices
- 18:00 - Shipping Code Without Reading: How AI enables merging 600 commits per day without traditional code review
- 20:30 - Closing the Loop Principle: The methodology that separates effective AI coding from ineffective approaches