AI will eliminate coding first, then software engineering: Anthropic CEO
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San Francisco: The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence will fundamentally transform the software industry, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned. "Coding will disappear first, and software engineering as we know it will undergo major changes soon," he said during entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath's podcast.
Amodei said that writing code is only one part of software development, and as AI becomes more capable, it will increasingly take over coding tasks. However, he stressed that human skills such as understanding users' needs, designing better products, and guiding and supervising AI systems will remain highly valuable.
He also highlighted the growing importance of jobs centred on human interaction, adding that critical thinking will become one of the most valuable skills in the age of AI.
Responding to a question on whether AI could make people less intelligent, Amodei said the answer depends on how the technology is used.
"If AI is used carelessly, people may lose certain skills. But if it is used as a tool to support learning and enhance critical thinking, it can be a tremendous benefit," he said.
Amodei also warned that students relying on AI to complete homework and assignments could undermine the learning process. Depending on AI instead of learning independently may weaken foundational knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
He further revealed that Anthropic's internal studies have found that excessive use of AI coding tools has led to "deskilling" among some software developers.