Explore the evolution of asynchronous programming in Java and delve into reactive programming concepts in this 52-minute conference talk. Trace the historical development of infrastructure from early Java versions, then learn to leverage Java 8's CompletableFuture API for intuitive reactive programming and improved multithreading performance. Gain insights from Dmitry Aleksandrov, a Principal Expert-Developer at T-Systems with extensive Java Enterprise experience, as he guides you through unlocking the power of asynchronous approaches in Java 8.