AI's Impact on Software Engineering: Industry Leaders Predict Shift in Coding Landscape

'Maybe We Do Need Less Software Engineers': Sam Altman Says Mastering AI Tools Is the New 'Learn to Code'

In a new interview with Stratechery's Ben Thompson this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, 39, said when he was graduating high school "the obvious tactical thing was [to] get really good at coding." Now, Altman says: "The obvious tactical thing is just get really good at using AI tools." He's not alone, as many top tech CEOs have noted that AI is getting better at writing code. Earlier this month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that AI will write all code for software engineers within a year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, told Joe Rogan in January that the company is developing new AI that will be able to write "a lot of the code in our apps." Related: Amazon Cloud CEO Predicts a Future Where Most Software Engineers Don't Code -- and AI Does It Instead Altman told Stratechery that mastering AI tools is "the new version" of learning to code and that at least half of code authorship is currently being automated. "I think in many companies, it's probably past 50% now," Altman said. "But the big thing I think will come with agentic coding, which no one's doing for real yet." When asked outright if his company would still be hiring software engineers, Altman said that right now, there is plenty of work, but in the long run, the exact AI they are working on might end up thinning out the job market. "My basic assumption is that each software engineer will just do much, much more for a while," Altman said. "And then at some point, yeah, maybe we do need less software engineers."

Will AI eat up career of coders? Rs 9,000 crore company founder claims most techies lack complexity, write 'boiler plate' codes

The rise of AI in coding has sparked debates about its impact on programmers. While AI can handle repetitive coding tasks, experts like Zoho's Sridhar Vembu emphasize that human intuition and problem-solving remain crucial. AI tools enhance efficiency but won't fully replace creative developers.Will AI demolish the career of coders? That has been the million-dollar question since the dawn of artificial intelligence. Since OpenAI's GPT-3 language model made waves with its ability to generate HTML websites from basic written commands, the AI industry has experienced a surge of innovations. Today, systems can craft entire computer programs from natural language descriptions, while automated coding assistants are significantly boosting programmers' efficiency. Last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang added fuel to the fire when he stated that in the near future, kids may not need to learn how to code, as AI will do the task. However, Sridhar Vembu begs to differ. Taking to X, the Zoho founder-chief scientist shared his take on the AI-endangering engineer's livelihood debate. "When people say "AI will write 90% of the code," I readily agree because 90% of what programmers write is "boiler plate," he wrote. "There is "essential complexity" in programming and then there is a lot of "accidental complexity," he added. He explained that artificial intelligence is highly effective at eliminating unnecessary layers of complexity, but human expertise remains essential for addressing the core, fundamental challenges. According to him, AI excels at recognizing and processing patterns that humans have already uncovered. However, the real question is whether AI possesses the ability to identify entirely new patterns. Just as with human intelligence, such discoveries are far less common and require an innate sense of "intuition," "judgment," or the ability to "pursue a gut feeling with conviction." Whether AI can develop this capability -- or if it can be achieved through sheer computational power -- remains uncertain to him. Responding to Vembu's post, one X user observed, "AI will magnify the gap between developers who can design systems well and those who merely translate requirements to code. The former will become more valuable and powerful; the latter will find themselves automated.' Another tweeted, "Spot on! AI is a powerful tool, not a replacement for creative problem-solving. It's a powerful efficiency boost that can help humans reduce time to get these parts of coding and problem solving. AI won't solve all your problemsbut it can help you prioritize. As per a Forbes report, the most striking advancements are AI coding agents like Cognition AI's Devin, marketed as a fully autonomous AI developer, and CodiumAI's Codiumate, which not only generates code but also incorporates an "adversarial" mechanism to analyze, critique, and refine its own output.

90% of coding by AI, fewer jobs for software engineers: Zoho's Sridhar Vembu and OpenAI's Sam Altman give techies a reality check

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggests that AI could reduce the need for software engineers in the future. Many companies already rely on AI for coding. Altman and other tech leaders predict that AI will eventually write most of the code. This may lead to fewer software engineering jobs. However, essential complexity will still require human expertise.Artificial intelligence is transforming software development, with experts predicting a significant reduction in manual coding work. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu believes AI will handle 90% of coding, eliminating repetitive tasks, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns that this shift could lead to fewer jobs for software engineers in the long run. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu believes artificial intelligence will take over most coding tasks. He attributes this to the repetitive nature of programming work, which AI can efficiently handle. In a post on X, Vembu wrote, "When people say 'AI will write 90% of the code' I readily agree because 90% of what programmers write is 'boiler plate'." He referred to the distinction between "essential complexity" and "accidental complexity," a concept from the software engineering book The Mythical Man-Month. According to Vembu, AI is effective in removing accidental complexity, but humans are still needed to handle essential complexity. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said artificial intelligence could reduce the demand for software engineers over time. While this shift is not immediate, the direction is clear. "Each software engineer will just do much, much more for a while," he said. "And then at some point, yeah, maybe we do need less software engineers." In an interview with Stratechery's Ben Thompson, Altman, 39, explained how AI is changing software development. He said the competitive advantage once came from mastering coding skills. Now, it is about mastering AI tools. "The obvious tactical thing is just get really good at using AI tools," he said. He contrasted this with the early 2000s when the primary focus was becoming a good coder. Altman revealed that artificial intelligence is already responsible for writing a significant portion of code in many organizations. "I think in many companies, it's probably past 50% now," he said. He also spoke about the future of "agentic coding," where AI will take on more complex tasks. "The big thing I think will come with agentic coding, which no one's doing for real yet," he said. Altman's views align with other industry leaders. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently predicted that AI will write all software code within a year. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg made a similar statement in January, telling Joe Rogan that AI will soon generate a significant portion of the code behind their applications. As AI continues to evolve, its role in software development is expanding. While experts agree that AI will handle more coding tasks, questions remain about whether it can replace human problem-solving in essential complexity. The shift may not happen overnight, but the trajectory is set.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI will gradually reduce need for software engineers

OpenAI's Sam Altman said that impact of AI on jobs would not set in suddenly but would accelerate gradually over time. He also highlighted that, while AI has already taken over significant portions of coding, the next big step would be "agentic coding". For success in future, he underlined the importance of adaptability and the capacity to learn.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in an interview with Ben Thompson of Stratechery, stated that, after a certain point, there would be less need for software engineers when asked whether the company should continue hiring them. He said, "I mean, my basic assumption is that each software engineer will just do much, much more for a while. And then at some point, yeah, maybe we do need less software engineers." The conversation also touched on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs and the speed of job displacement. When asked for his perspective on the issue, Altman expressed the view that the changes would not be sudden but would accelerate gradually over time. He said that it "kind of just seeps through the economy and mostly kind of like eats things little by little and then faster and faster." Altman also highlighted AI's growing role in coding, noting that it has already taken over a significant portion of the work. He stated, "I think in many companies, it's probably past 50% now. But the big thing I think will come with agentic coding, which no one's doing for real yet." When asked about GPT-5, Altman responded, "We only got 4.5 two weeks ago." Altman also addressed a question from Thompson, posed on behalf of his daughter, offering career advice to high school graduates like her. He suggested that the "obvious tactical move" would be to become proficient in using AI tools, drawing a comparison with how mastering coding was the essential skill when he graduated from high school. Finally, Altman emphasised that, while specific technical skills are important, the most valuable attributes for future success will be broader abilities like adaptability and the capacity to learn.