Did you hear the news? A new AI called Devin just came out as the world’s first AI software engineer. Now they say it can code entire projects, take freelancing jobs on Upwork, fix GitHub issues, and even deploy code on its own. So the headlines are screaming that software engineering jobs are dead, and people are asking me, Oh my gosh, I’m in my first year of computer science or I just graduated, so did I waste my time? But here’s the thing: I’ve been in the industry for 20 years, and trust me, we’re going to be just fine.
In this video, I’m going to give you five reasons why I’m not panicking and why I think you shouldn’t worry either. Let’s dive into the details.
Let’s be honest, the companies that build these AI tools are in the business of selling. They’re going to show you the coolest parts and the most impressive demos to get you excited. But just like every product, there are usually limitations we only discover after we start using it. Devin may have done some Upwork jobs, but what kind of jobs? Simple or complex, we just don’t know yet. These demos are meant to grab your attention and attract new investors. Keep that in mind.
Now let’s be real. Even if Devin is a coding superstar, do you think any serious company is going to let an AI pick up their sensitive code base, generate changes, and just automatically deploy it? Absolutely not; that’s a recipe for disaster. A human software engineer always needs to review the AI’s work. Trust me, I’ve played with a lot of these tools, and they are not perfect. It’s like self-driving cars. Cool technology, but we are not getting rid of drivers anytime soon.
Speaking of reviewing, have you heard of the term AI hallucination? It’s like that friend who always seems to have an answer for everything, even if they don’t know what they’re talking about. AI can do that with code, spitting out something that looks impressive but doesn’t actually solve the problem. That’s where we humans come in.
Now think about this. ChatGPT has been around for a year and a half, and it can generate code. How many stories have you read about software engineers losing their jobs because their company decided to use AI instead? I haven’t heard of a single story. And here’s the reason: Building great software is about way more than just typing out code.
Think about it this way. Making a movie isn’t just about the actors on screen. There’s writing, directing, editing, lighting, sound design, and tons of behind-the-scenes work that the audience never sees directly. Same with software. Yes, AI getting better at code generation is cool and important, but it’s like improving the acting part of the equation. There is still a whole world of essential skills AI hasn’t touched yet.
Can an AI sit down with a client and figure out what they truly need the way a human can? I don’t think so. Also, so many businesses rely on older, often complex systems. Understanding how they work, their constraints, and how to integrate them with newer technology takes human experience and problem-solving skills that AI hasn’t mastered yet. Planning the big pieces of how your software works and the overall user experience—that’s an art form that AI has barely touched.
So much of our job is talking to other engineers, designers, and stakeholders and figuring out solutions together. AI can’t replace that human interaction.
Look, I’ve been coding for 30 years, and I’ve seen the tools change so much. Here’s the first editor I used on a Commodore 64 to code. That was 35 years ago. Back then, it was just you and the text, character by character, no fancy features, just pure focus on the logic. Then came editors, like with auto-completion. That was a game-changer. Fast forward a few years, and we have code snippets. With a few keystrokes, you could generate a whole chunk of code. Amazing for efficiency. And now, with GitHub Copilot and other AI tools, we can explain what we want in plain English, and it generates code. Pretty impressive, right?
But here’s the key point: The trend is that we spend less time on boring, repetitive typing stuff and more time on creative and strategic parts of software development. That’s where humans excel. Oh, and by the way, let’s not forget that three years ago, when GitHub Copilot first came out, there was a similar hype and a fear that it would replace developers. But in reality, it’s been a productivity booster, not a job stealer.
So my advice is: don’t panic. Ignore the clickbait headlines. Keep learning, keep growing your skills, and trust that if AI gets so good that even experienced software engineers aren’t needed, well, it won’t just affect us; the whole world would be changing, not just coding.
