DevTernity Conference explained

DevTernity is a paid, online software development conference with an emphasis on software architecture, development best practices and technical leadership. The conference runs annually. It was first organized in 2015.^[1] The conference was hosted out of Riga, Latvia until 2019. There was no conference in 2020.^[2]

From 2021, the conference has been online-only.^[3] The 2023 annual conference was cancelled^[4] over claims of fake, AI-generated speaker profiles,^[5] leading to speakers dropping out.^[6]

The conference typically features about 20 speakers.

Controversy

In November 2023, it came to light that DevTernity had been listing fake women speaker profiles^[7] on all conferences organized since 2021.^[8] Also, Eduards Sizovs, the organizer of the conference, has been found to be the person behind a popular woman in tech Instagram account advertising the conference.^{[9] [10]}

The controversy resulted in widespread backlash against the conference and its organizer.^{[11] [12] [13]} The fake speakers are speculated to have been created to create an illusion of diversity.^{[14] [15]}

Notes and References

1. News: DevTernity IT conference set to start in Rīga . 6 December 2023. Latvian Radio . 30 November 2017.
2. News: DevTernity announces postponing of 2020 conference to 2021 . 6 December 2023. 10 July 2020.
3. News: DevTernity announces online-only format . 6 December 2023. 22 July 2021.
4. News: Claburn . Thomas . DevTernity conference collapses amid claims women speakers were faked . 6 December 2023. The Register . 28 November 2023. |
5. News: Gall . Richard . Meet ‘Anna Boyko’: How a Fake Speaker Blew up DevTernity . 6 December 2023. The New Stack . 28 November 2023.
6. News: Fake AI-generated woman on tech conference agenda leads Microsoft and Amazon execs to drop out . 6 December 2023. AP News . 28 November 2023.
7. News: Weatherbed . Jess . This dev conference organizer seems addicted to making up women . 6 December 2023. The Verge . 28 November 2023.
8. News: Orosz . Gergely . A Tech Conference Listed Fake Speakers for Years: I Accidentally Noticed . 7 December 2023. Pragmatic Engineer . 2 December 2023.
9. News: Cole . Samantha . Founder Is Behind Popular Woman Coding Influencer Account . 6 December 2023. 404 Media . 27 November 2023.
10. News: Fielding . Sarah . A popular female coding influencer's Instagram is apparently run by a man . 28 November 2023. Endgadget . 27 November 2023.
11. News: Belanger . Ashley . Backlash over fake female speakers shuts down developer conference . 6 December 2023. Ars Technica . 28 November 2023.
12. News: Lung . Natalie . Tech Conference Faces Backlash on Claims of Fake Women Speakers . 6 December 2023. Bloomberg . 28 November 2023.
13. News: Kwan . Wei . Microsoft and Amazon Web Services executives are bailing on this tech conference after the organizer was accused of using fake female panelists . 6 December 2023. Business Insider . 28 November 2023.
14. News: Doyle . Andrea . Tech Conference Accused of Creating Fake Women Speakers . 6 December 2023. Skift Meetings . 28 November 2023.
15. News: Josh . Adams . Devternity Developer Conference Invents Fake Female Attendees to Bolster Diversity Credentials . 6 December 2023. CCN . 3 December 2023.