When AI writes almost all code, what happens to software engineering?
March 6, 2026
The bad: declining value of expertise. Prototyping, being a language polyglot or a specialist in a stack are likely to be a lot less valuable, looking ahead.
The good: software engineers more valuable than before. Tech lead traits in more demand, being more “product-minded” to be a baseline at startups, and being a solid software engineer and not just a “coder” will be more sought-after than before.
The ugly: uncomfortable outcomes. More code generated will lead to more problems, weak software engineering practices start to hurt sooner, and perhaps a tougher work-life balance for devs.
A pragmatic engineer is a blog and podcast that many experienced software engineers pay close attention to.
Home
My Network
Jobs
Messaging
1
Notifications
Me
For Business
Advertise
Gergely Orosz He is a deeply experienced software engineer with a track record of companies like Skype and Uber who brings that knowledge to bear on the state of software engineering today. here. A few weeks ago he reflects on what has been happening since late 2025 in terms of the capabilities of AI when it comes to software engineering.
