S4E2 - Will AI Replace Data Engineers? Dashboards, Semantic Layers & What Dies Next

"AI won't replace data engineers. But engineers using AI will." In Season 4, Episode 2, we sit down with Julian to unpack what's actually changing in data engineering — and what's about to disappear. We get into: → Why dashboards as we know them are dying (and what replaces them) → Does AI really need a semantic layer? Julian's answer might surprise you → The low-code trap quietly racking up tech debt across data teams → Where AI is genuinely useful today: tech debt, testing, and data governance → The one skill that still matters most when AI can write the code → A spicy closing question for the next guest about cloud cost ⏱ Chapters 00:00 — Intro 01:30 — Julian's path into data 04:00 — The career pivot that changed everything 07:30 — How his team is adopting AI (and who resists) 10:00 — Does AI need a semantic layer? 13:00 — Local models are closer than you think 15:30 — Where AI is actually working: tech debt, tests, governance 19:00 — What the data industry is getting completely wrong 23:00 — The belief Julian held 3 years ago that's now wrong 26:00 — A question for the next guest 🎙 Guest: Julian   / julianlarralde   🎧 Host: [Aaron Phethean /   / aaron-phethean   Subscribe for new episodes Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/53DZhmR... #dataengineering #AI #SemanticLayer #AIAgents #DataAnalytics #Dashboards #Meltano #DataPodcast