AI is changing how we write code and how fast our websites load. But it won't measure, prioritize, or optimize any of it for you.
In this episode, hosts Matt Sharp and Holly Fake sit down with full-stack engineer Ethan Gardner to talk Core Web Vitals, why AI-generated code is quietly getting heavier and slower even as it ships faster, and what it takes to get cited by AI search tools rather than skipped over. Ethan also walks through a live demo using AI-assisted debugging in Chrome DevTools to diagnose a real performance issue in seconds.
Alongside the technical work, Ethan shares how he's paired an LLM with a traditional career coach, one of many AI productivity tools for work now reshaping how people think about growth, to figure out what parts of his work are truly bringing him fulfillment and where he'd been spending energy that wasn't serving him.
Two very different problems with the same lesson: AI can move fast, but it still takes a person to decide what's worth optimizing.
00:00 Introduction
01:06 Using AI as a career coach
07:15 Core Web Vitals, explained
10:54 Performance as a proxy for the bottom line
12:59 Why AI-generated code is getting heavier
21:26 Testing in CI/CD vs. the real world
28:53 Live demo: AI-assisted debugging
34:52 Key takeaways
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