AI Will Write Most of the Code, Says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
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 Predicts Fewer Jobs for Software Engineers
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.”
AI as the New Tactical Edge
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.
AI Already Writing Code in Many Companies
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.
Industry Leaders Share Similar Views
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.
The Future of Software Engineering
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.
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