Joe Duffy, Founder & CEO of Pulumi, and James Governor, Co-founder of RedMonk, delve into the concept of developer-first infrastructure, which aims to empower developers to manage modern cloud applications and infrastructure using software engineering practices. They highlight the evolution of computing from assembly languages to higher-level abstractions and suggest that a similar transformation is needed in cloud computing. Duffy and Governor discuss how treating infrastructure as code, using APIs, and embracing modularity and polyglot programming can help manage cloud complexity and enhance development velocity. They emphasize principles such as continuous delivery, environment parity, and secure configuration as essential for building cloud-native applications. Their conversation underscores the importance of focusing on developer experience to drive innovation and efficiency in cloud infrastructure, proposing that companies that excel in this area become industry leaders.