Matthijs van der Veer · Utrecht

Technology and myth-busting

Cloud & AI consultant at Xebia. Public speaker. I cut through the hype and make AI digestible for engineers and executives alike. Honestly though, I'm just here to earn the kibble for my dog.

01 / PostsWriting

Essays on generative AI, the occasional build log, and a long tail of IoT tutorials.

01.11.2026
Latest Making sense of the world with booksIf you needed another reason to read more books 06.02.2026 You Can't Buy Your Way to Zero HallucinationsMy theory: improving LLM output always requires a higher token count and, therefore, cost. 14.01.2026 Why You Should Think Twice About LLM Agents for Business ProcessesRun your business on a poem generator, I dare you! 31.03.2024 Building A Quick Dungeons And Dragons Simulator With AutoGenNeed some inspiration for your next campaign? Or just want to play around with AutoGen? Let's build something fun! 09.04.2023 Ensuring IoT Hub Treats Messages as JSON: A Step-by-Step GuideIoT Hub receives message bodies as byte arrays, regardless of whether it's JSON format or not. To make routing work, you need to add some metadata! 23.03.2023 My edgeHub is Missing! - A Tale of Uncovering the Secrets of Azure IoT EdgeA fresh IoT Edge installation and your edgeHub just won't run? Check this first. → All 24 posts

02 / BooksReading

Books that made a mark on me. Far from complete, but each one made me feel something.

Cover of The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

Latest on the shelf · read 09.2026

The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

Cory Doctorow

→ Buy at Libris

In fiction, the mythical centaur is a powerful horse’s body, with the addition of an intelligent human head (and torso). In technology, a centaur refers to a human using technology, being assisted by it. You’re a centaur when you use a calculator. You’re a centaur when you ride a bicycle. You remain in charge.

The book describes the inverse: a reverse centaur. This is where technology will do the thinking for you, using humans only when it can’t complete the job. This is a warning sign by the way, not an invitation.

The whole shelf. Pick any book. The ones marked “Note” come with my thoughts.

03 / Sessions & eventsSpeaking

Moving away from technical how-to-AI talks. I'd rather help everyone understand generative AI and its many challenges.

Next up

04–05.02.27

Cloud Tech Tallinn 2027

Tallinn, Estonia

Event site ↗

Talks on offer. Open one to read the abstract.

01 Unmasking Model Bias: The Overlooked Metric In GenAI

Join us for a thought-provoking session that uncovers the critical concept of model bias in generative AI - a metric often overlooked in model selection. We will explore why model bias is not the same as model performance, its significance in model selection, and how it impacts your projects, whether you’re developing niche applications or seeking broader solutions. You’ll walk away with the knowledge to incorporate model bias into your selection criteria and strategies to navigate the complexities of generative AI models.

This talk welcomes anyone interested in generative AI - whether you’re a sceptic or a developer. Together, let’s examine the hidden biases that shape the models we use and understand their implications for our work.

→ Full session on Sessionize
02 Toxic Trust: The Psychology of Automation Bias in Generative AI

Explore the hidden dangers of automation bias in the realm of generative AI and automation—a cognitive trap where we too readily trust machine-generated content. We’ll examine the psychological aspects of this bias and its impact on text, images, and code and provide actionable strategies for increasing awareness and reducing bias. We will close with a live demo showcasing practical examples and innovative approaches to transform your interaction with generative AI.

This talk is ideal for anyone interested in generative AI and how we work with it. Come prepared to challenge your assumptions and change your relationship with AI.

→ Full session on Sessionize
03 Better Tools, Worse Jobs: The Reverse Centaurs We Build at Work

In automation theory, a centaur is a human using technology to improve quality or become more powerful. When you use a calculator, a car, and even a coding agent, you are a centaur. However, companies like Uber, Amazon and every generative AI vendor would rather see technology run the show, using humans only when those pesky bits and bytes can’t get the job done. Their software turns you into what Cory Doctorow calls a reverse centaur.

With the advent of agents in the workplace, you might be building this type of software today, by your own design or because your boss believes humans are just bottlenecks. We end up working for applications, instead of applications working for us.

In this session, I will teach you the tell-tale signs of this type of software and how to put humans at the centre again. Whether you’re a software developer, IT decision-maker or manager, I’ll discuss what I’ve learned from building generative AI for the workplace that serves humans first. Become the centaur you were meant to be!

→ Full session on Sessionize
04 Yes-Bots: How Chatbots Gaslight You Into Delusion

Your chatbot agrees with you a little too much, and that should worry you. In this talk, we’ll explore AI Psychosis: the subtle ways AI applications shift your perception of reality. You’ll learn why large language models are sycophantic by design, how research shows that even perfectly rational thinkers can spiral into delusion when a chatbot keeps telling them what they want to hear, and what role emotion concepts in LLMs play in all of this. We’ll also look at practical strategies to defend yourself against these effects.

This talk is for anyone with an opinion on AI, whether you’re a fan, a critic, or somewhere in between. Come ready to question your relationship with your favourite chatbot and leave knowing how to spot sycophantic behaviour before it reshapes your thinking.

→ Full session on Sessionize
05 Think Twice About Running Your Business With Agents

In this session, we will examine why LLM-based agents may not be the best fit for your business processes, despite the hype surrounding them. You’ll learn about the inherent capabilities and limitations of large language models, the common workarounds proposed by tech vendors, and why these solutions often miss the mark. By the end of the session, you’ll walk away with a practical 3-step process for implementing automation with LLMs in a way that truly works.

This talk is perfect for anyone interested in artificial intelligence, especially developers and decision-makers who want to engage critically with current AI trends.

→ Full session on Sessionize
06 Write Drunk, Edit Sober: Creating Generative Content Responsibly

Let’s examine the growing concern over low-quality generative AI content and explore how we can build automated systems that produce high-quality output. You’ll learn to identify the signs of ‘AI Slop’ and implement strategies that counteract our automation bias, ensuring that the content we create meets the standards we expect. Using session abstract generation as a case study, I will provide practical guidelines to elevate the quality of your AI-generated content.

This talk is designed for developers and IT professionals who are dedicated to improving the quality of AI-driven content in their organisations. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and discover how a little effort can lead to significant improvements in the content we create.

→ Full session on Sessionize

Past stages

2026
2025
2024
2023
2022

04 / Get in touchContact

Want me on your stage, or want to argue about AI? I'm listening.