Guardrails for the Age of Code Generation: Protecting What Matters Most

As AI-assisted coding tools become commonplace, the software development landscape is undergoing a massive shift. Teams are shipping code faster than ever — but with speed comes risk. How do we ensure that the code we generate, whether by humans or machines, doesn’t erode the functionality, reliability, and business impact we care about?

In this talk, we’ll explore why code generation without safety nets can be a recipe for regressions, outages, and missed KPIs. We’ll examine how automated guardrails — from tailored unit and integration tests to proactive code reviews and automated refactoring — can help teams safeguard critical functionality and maintain alignment with business goals. Drawing on real-world examples, we’ll discuss best practices for integrating these guardrails into modern engineering workflows, and why they’re essential for scaling AI-assisted development responsibly.