Solutionist Mindset: Finding purpose in the age or AI

As AI tools become increasingly capable of writing code, developers face a critical question: what's our role in this new landscape? This talk proposes an answer—shift from being developers who write code to Solutionists who solve problems.
The presentation shares a personal journey of rebuilding from zero, starting with a simple Python calculator built to solve a billing problem at an Auroville guest house. That first solution led to acceptance into Zoho Schools and eventually a career as an Android Developer at Zoho.
Core Concepts:

The Solutions Mindset: Why solving problems matters more than writing code
Four defining traits of a Solutionist: Empathy, Systems Thinking, Lifelong Learning, and Communication
Bertrand Russell's "In Praise of Idleness" and its relevance to AI
Vibe coding: Using AI as a tool while understanding every change
Practical strategies for starting your journey as a Solutionist

Key Takeaways:

How to approach building projects that solve real problems
Why documenting your vision matters more than your first line of code
How to work with AI tools without losing the joy of building
The importance of building consistently and learning continuously

Delivered at DevFest Chennai 2025 as a first-time speaker to an audience of developers navigating the AI transformation. more on this at https://md.eknath.dev/devfest2025-solutionist-mindset-talk/

Transcript

1. Chennai Eganathan R Android Dev, Zoho Reclaiming Purpose in the Age of AI Solutionist Mindset:
2. How many of you are worried about AI replacing YOU? I too Was worried!
3. My Journey to the streets of Varanasi, with literally nothing but just the cloth i wore that day. Looking for an end but finding clarity
4. My first JOB In an Auroville Guest House Not in tech! But as a waiter and later everything else as needed.
5. My First Solution A very simple custom calculator for simplifying the discount calculations at the billing.
6. The solution lead me to an opportunity. at Zoho Schools of Graduate Studies Bootcamp,which changed me forever.
7. Life in Tech was unreal! An autodidactical journey that felt like a dream — learning, growing, and getting paid for it, life was really comfortable and good going until…
8. AI Happened! The fear of becoming irrelevant as a developer was scary!
9. Not just me! Anyone i talked to were feeling like walking on a needle, thanks to the hype around it.
10. In Praise of Idleness! Essay from 1932 by Bertrand Russell
11. Society's obsession with work is harmful, reduction in working hours would lead to a happier and more prosperous society -Bertrand Russell (During the great Depression)
12. Whooo!! the Productivity rise Features that took Weeks and Months took only Hours and Days, with that came quite a lot of free time...
13. The question is not Will AI replace us? But What will we do with the freedom it already has created us?
14. What is confining us? We have the answering machine, what’s stopping us from growing, building and getting better?
15. Boxed mindset is confining to specific titles, language or framework. And not exploring beyond..
16. Developer only writes code to win Bread, but Solutionist goes much deeper to the struct of the problem.
17. How can we stay relevant ? Finding purpose in the age of AI and beyond
18. - Trying to Solve them - Learning new things from it - Implementing them - Finding new problems - Reiterating this cycle
19. Building new Projects & Solutions!
20. Building small things consistently changes you. Chennai
21. You see problems differently. Chennai
22. Chennai You evolve into someone you didn't know you could become.
23. Solutionist If you are on board with this,i believe you will still be relevant, no matter what!! Because you are a true:
24. Not defined by tools, but problems solved. Language-agnostic, Framework-flexible and System-aware
25. What are the charastics of a Solutionist ?
26. 01 Empathy - Understanding people, not just specs. - The best solutions come from understanding the human problem, putting yourself into their shoes.
27. Systems Thinking 02 Seeing how one changes ripples through everything. Understanding consequences and dependencies.
28. Lifelong Learning 03 Venturing into unknown tech without fear. Being a beginner again and again, in new avenues.
29. Communication 04 Bridging technical and non-technical minds. The best solution is useless if no one understands it.
30. AI as Freedom AI is Russell's prophecy coming true. Technology handles labor so humans focus on work requiring thought, care, and purpose.
31. How to actually start ? Find a problem that you can solve by building a tool, it could be a simple note taking app…
32. Write it down Visualize it mentally how it’s going to help you, you will get incredible feature ideas that will make your project unique from others.
33. Use AI ruthlessly From wording your vision to getting it implemented. Use them effectively and cautiously,with great awareness of the changes it brings.
34. Some of my AI fav tools Google Gemini-CLI(ideation) Google STITCH(ideation) Claude-cli(development) Jetbrains Junie (development) Google Opal(mini apps)
35. Real Power When you build,you're everything— visionary, Project Manager, budget handler,sysadmin, developer, maintainer marketer and what not.
36. Start Today! Start small if needed, but don’t stop, keep building it, document it, grow with it, experience the joy of building and the magic it has on you.
37. Future Proof You. No matter what new technology pops up or a new industry you will be ready to tackle the problems that comes along with it, because you are a SOLUTIONIST!
38. Thank you! The tools i built and more about me at eknath.dev Connect with me and leave an anonymous feedbacks on my website, share your projects and ideas too.