Testing Peers
Testing Peers is a community-driven initiative built by testers, for testers. We are a not-for-profit collective focused on supporting each other across software testing, quality, leadership, and engineering. This group is peer-led, values-driven, and passionate about shaping a more thoughtful, collaborative testing culture.
The Testing Peers podcast is now expanding beyond its original four hosts, David Maynard, Chris Armstrong, Russell Craxford and Simon Prior, striving to represent the voices of a diverse and thriving community.
Our inaugural in-person conference, #PeersCon, launched in Nottingham in March 2024, returning for #PeersCon25, with #PeersCon26 already scheduled - further solidifying Testing Peers as a not-for-profit, by testers, for testers initiative.
Testing Peers
Testing in the Age of AI
Welcome to episode 135 of the Testing Peers Podcast. This time join Chris, Russell, David and the returning Jon Robinson as we talk all things AI in testing.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how we approach testing, QA and quality. But what happens when the pace of change accelerates? In this episode, the Peers explore what AI might mean for our profession, our skills and the value we bring.
We discuss:
- The future of QA roles in the next 3–5 years and which functions may fade or evolve.
- Why exploratory testing could become more important as AI takes on repetitive checking.
- The risk of over-reliance on AI tools, from hallucinations to “blind hope” in outputs.
- New skills testers may need: data literacy, training and validating models, and critical thinking about outputs.
- Shifts in business mindsets: AI as a cost-cutting tool vs AI as an enabler.
- The challenges of scalability, maintainability and sustainability when using AI.
- Ethical and legal concerns around data sharing, intellectual property and training models.
- How diverse skills and perspectives remain crucial for testing in an AI-driven future.
Along the way, we touch on topics from token debt and environmental impact, to healthcare examples, to why trust and human experience still matter.
#PeersCon26 Call for Collaborations for written and video submissions until September 30th 2025, and also for VolunPeers. More on all this can be found here
Tickets for the event are now live too, starting at £15 until December, when they go up to £30.
And as always, we are looking for sponsors to make this event the success it has been for the last 2 years, get in touch if interested
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We’re also now on GoodPods, check it out via the mobile app stores
If you like what we do and are able to, please visit our Patreon to explore how you could support us going forwards: https://www.patreon.com/testingpeers
Thanks to our sponsors – NFocus Testing.
nFocus are a UK based software testing company. They’ve been supporting businesses for 24 years by providing services that include burst resource, accelerated test automation, performance testing and fully managed testing services. In 2021, they launched a Test Automation Academy to create amazing testers and they’ve now created jobs for 48 people in our industry in just under three years!
nFocus were a big part of PeersCon in 2024 and 2025, really grateful for all they do to support the Testing Peers.
www.nfocus.co.uk and info@nfocus.co.uk for anyone wanting to get in touch.