AI won’t save your legacy systems, architecture will
Thursday, 26 November 2026 · Software tracks – time and room to be announced
Speaker
About this session
AI can generate code faster than ever before. But when it comes to legacy systems, speed alone isn’t the solution. Without architectural direction, AI can make the problem worse by producing more code, more complexity and more technical debt at a higher pace. In this talk, Robert van Uden explores why architecture remains the deciding factor in successful AI-augmented software engineering. Drawing on his experience as a software architect in the high-tech industry, he shows how AI becomes truly valuable when combined with clear architectural boundaries, strong engineering practices and deliberate validation. He also argues that AI adoption isn’t primarily a tooling challenge, but a methodological one: Success depends on structure, responsibilities and maintainable ways of working. This talk is for anyone dealing with technical debt, modernization pressure and the promise of AI. It offers a practical perspective on how to use AI to modernize legacy systems responsibly and why, in the end, architecture is what makes the difference.
About the speaker
Robert van Uden
Robert van Uden is a senior software architect at Alten and a software architecture trainer with more than twenty years of experience in the high-tech industry. He’s worked with leading companies in logistics, semiconductors and healthcare, helping them design, evolve and modernize complex software-intensive systems. Throughout his career, he’s worked extensively on legacy systems and software modernization. In recent years, he’s focused on the impact of AI on software engineering, especially in legacy environments where domain knowledge, maintainability and architectural control are critical. His work combines software architecture, legacy modernization and AI-augmented development methods that help teams adopt AI in a deliberate and effective way.
