Backend, data and AI. Long rides and bikepacking in between.

Benjamin Carlier - Home

Recent Posts

  • From flow to flight deck: how AI changed the rhythm of writing software
    11 min read

    Some personal notes on how AI has changed the rhythm of the developer job. The restful flow of typing seems to be giving way to constantly piloting AI. I do not have firm answers, but I wanted to write down what I think we might be trading away, and what we could do with the time we get back.

  • The tools I actually use
    5 min read

    An honest look at my daily tech stack: the editors, CLI tools, plugins, and small utilities that survived months of daily use on real projects.

  • Escaping the screen
    4 min read

    When the code stops making sense and the screen starts to blur, the best thing a developer can do is clip in and ride. A weekend discovering the quiet roads and golden villages of the south Luberon.

  • Migrations are a product, not a chore
    10 min read

    Why most technical migrations die after the first proof of concept, and how treating them like product launches, with planning, tracking, and AI-assisted execution, is the only way to actually finish them.

  • Finding the rythm again, one climb at a time
    5 min read

    After months away from the bike, I set out to find my rhythm again — one pedal stroke at a time. From early morning rides to evenings in the hills above Grasse with friends. A short story about how to find motivation again.

  • Why the best learning experience feels like a game
    4 min read

    Why does gamification actually work and how can you use it to learn more effectively. Learn about the theory, how it is already applied at scale and how you can start using those principles in your daily work.

  • Building a practical AI coding setup for legacy codebases
    6 min read

    How I went from chasing over-engineered agentic workflows to a lightweight, practical AI setup that actually holds up on a messy, real-world codebase.

  • AI won't replace developers, it will raise the bar for what being one means
    5 min read

    AI is changing the landscape of software development; it is making execution cheap and clarity essential. The real advantage now belongs to those who can define problems precisely, design testable systems, and shape outcomes rather than just produce code.

  • Hello World: building my personal website
    2 min read

    The very first post on bencar.me - why I decided to build a personal website, what I plan to write about and the tech stack behind my blog.