AI replacing Software Engineers is just silly to think
Stephane Moreau ??
Senior Engineering Manager → I help you grow as an EM | Get 50+ Notion Templates & Join My Blog!
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about whether AI will replace software engineers. Big names are fueling the conversation. Salesforce’s CEO claims they won’t hire new engineers in 2025 because AI tools have increased their productivity by 30%. Mark Zuckerberg said that AI in 2025 will be able to do a mid-level engineer’s job.
It’s enough to make any software engineer wonder: Will I still have a job by the end of 2025?
Let’s analyze what AI can and can’t do today, and how you can prepare yourself for the future.
AI vs. AGI
First, let’s clarify what we mean by AI. The tools we use today, like ChatGPT, are examples of Generative AI (GenAI). These systems analyse patterns in big datasets to generate text, code, and other outputs. They’re powerful, but they don’t “think” - instead they predict text based on statistical analysis.
AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, would go further. It’s a hypothetical system that could think and reason like a person across a broad range of tasks. We don’t have that yet, and we might not have it for decades.
Today’s AI is more like a fancy autocomplete. It’s decent at following instructions but still struggles with creativity, context, and judgment. This difference matters when we ask what AI can really replace.
AI Today
Using ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Cursor or similar tools will make you see the following when you use them to code:
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Developers already spend a big chunk of their time reviewing and debugging code rather than writing it. AI creating more overly “clever” code that is hard to follow, makes general debugging even tougher when something will inevitably go wrong.
These are big problems. Hard to solve. And in my opinion impossible to tackle in 2025, or even in the next few years.
Prompt Engineering is Engineering (It’s in the Name)
Using AI in a way that actually increases productivity requires a new skill: prompt engineering. This doesn’t mean just asking questions but asking the right questions in the right way.
Creating clear, specific instructions to get the answers we want from AI.
The clarity of your prompt determines the quality of the result.
And we’re all figuring out how to best do that so that we can increase our efficiency using AI.
Are You a Programmer?
You can read this section here: https://blog.em-tools.io/p/ai-replacing-software-engineers-is-silly
Engineering Manager | Guiding software engineers to become leaders in tech
1 个月Insightful post, Stephane. Your distinction between GenAI and AGI is spot on—AI is a tool, not a replacement for engineers. Skills like judgment, creativity, and even prompt engineering will only grow in value as AI evolves. Thanks for breaking this down so clearly!
Engineering at Microsoft | Simplifying AI for Everyone | Empowering Productivity with Proven Frameworks and Processes
1 个月We need more people to work to build that level of agents. If anything, right now there are more opportunities to venture into and make the most of this technology. And even when that problem has been solved really well, there will be new problems to solve. Just like how it's been in tech forever.
???? Eliminate tech debt, unleash the power of AI ?? AI Ambassador ???? Startups ?? Travel and Aviation Geek ??
1 个月Until we become Gods, society will have unlimited demand for creative engineers. ~Naval Ravikant Key word: creative ??
Software Developer ????????♀? Technical Leader
1 个月These aren't mutually exclusive right? Most jobs want programming, occasionally they want ???engineering???
Software Engineering Leader | Managing engineers and developing high scalable applications
1 个月Great article, where I see AI "replacing" is replacing the easy tasks developers are doing and giving them more time to focus on the problem they are trying to solve. I hope to see more communication and solutions with AI helping folks, including myself, be more productive. I feel a lot of people out there are using scare tactics to get people to read their articles and such. Love how you worded the title vs "AI will replace engineers" like everyone else. I also do not believe Saleforce's CEO and Mark needs a coach. 2025 going to be interesting to say the least.