Episode 226: (REPLAY) The Croissants are Selenium w/ Jason Huggins

About this episode

In this episode, Jason Huggins discusses the challenges and future of UI automation with Alan.

In this replay of episode 103, we are joined by Jason Huggins, the creator of Selenium, to discuss the true intent of the tool and why the industry has developed what Alan calls a 'tragic sickness' and an 'unhealthy infatuation' with UI automation. Driven by his belief that hand-crafted UI tests are an inefficient 'money pit' and a 'maintenance nightmare,' Alan challenges the traditional reliance on Selenium and advocates for developers owning automation to ensure better code design. Together with Huggins, we explore the history of the 'mercury monster' and the 'Steel Cage Match' while looking toward a future where robotics, AI-assisted record-and-playback, and data-driven experimentation replace brittle, legacy scripts

People in this episode

Host: Alan

Guest: Jason Huggins

Topics covered

• UI automation
• Selenium
• software testing
• automation challenges
• AI in testing
• code design

Keywords

• Selenium
• UI automation
• software testing
• automation
• AI
• code design
• testing tools

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Selenium

Books & works: Episode 103, mercury monster, Steel Cage Match

More episodes of AB Testing

• Episode 232: More AI with Prince Kohli · June 2, 2026 · 50 min
• Episode 231: The B is Back · May 20, 2026 · 52 min
• Episode 230: Kat Obring is Back · May 5, 2026 · 54 min
• Episode 229: Testing in the Age of AI · April 9, 2026 · 55 min
• Episode 228: Hangin' with Shachin and Pulkit · April 2, 2026 · 52 min
• Episode 227: Elisabeth Hendrickson · February 20, 2026 · 55 min