Everyone knows an AI strategy is important — but how do you build one with humans at the center? That's a question Tiankai Feng, Thoughtworks Global Director for Data and AI Strategy, has been pondering ever since the publication of his 2024 book Humanizing Data Strategy. Now, just over a year later, he's outlined his thinking in a follow-up, Humanizing AI Strategy. With the subtitle "leading AI with sense and soul," it's a practical and thoughtful guide aimed at helping the industry rethink the way AI is embedded and leveraged across organizations.

In this episode of the Technology Podcast, Tiankai joins host Prem Chandrasekaran to discuss his new book. He explains why he wrote it, how it compares to his first book and discusses the framework it puts forward. Listen for a fresh perspective on AI in business and some practical strategies for leaders to bring purpose and conscience to AI initiatives.

Learn more about Humanizing AI Strategy: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/books/humanizing-ai-strategy

Read a Q&A with Tiankai: https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/data-strategy/how-put-human-center-ai

Everyone seems to be talking about context engineering. That was certainly the case in our recent discussions for the upcoming edition of the Technology Radar (volume 33, due early November 2025). And although we ran into the term on the Technology Podcast just a few weeks ago, we thought it would be useful to try and tackle exactly what people are talking about when they talk about context engineering. We know context is important when it comes to AI, but what does it mean to engineer it?

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host and Thoughtworks CTO Rachel Laycock is joined by Thoughtworkers Alessio Ferri and Bharani Subramaniam to discuss what context engineering is, how it's being done and what it tells us about the evolution of AI. This certainly won't be the last word — ours or anyone else's — on context engineering, but it might help clarify and cement your understanding as the term comes to dominate technology conversations.

Although the concept of the 'citizen developer' isn't new, with the rise of AI the relationship between those building software without much technical experience and seasoned software developers is becoming more significant. That's not to say there's conflict exactly, but there are often competing interests and demands — which can lead to tension, organizational friction and governance challenges.

On this episode of the Technology Podcast, host Ken Mugrage facilitates a debate (of sorts) between Christopher Hastings, Global Tech Product Lead at Thoughtworks (and citizen developer) and Scott Davies, Head of Technology for Thoughtworks Europe (very much in the developer camp). They discuss the needs and interests of both sides, how to avoid regressing to the dark ages of shadow IT and how citizen developers can be properly empowered by engineering teams.