Anthropic CEO claims software engineering will be obsolete in 12 months, Sridhar Vembu says pay attention
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that software engineering could become obsolete within the next 12 months as AI systems take over most coding work. Now, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has reiterated the warning, saying it should not be ignored given that Anthropic already builds some of the most advanced AI tools for coding.
If there is one job that is feeling the impact of artificial intelligence most acutely, it is software engineering. Much of the core work, particularly coding, is increasingly being handled by AI systems. IT giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are already using AI to write parts of their new codebases, and this level of automation is expected to increase further. Citing this ongoing shift, Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, has warned that software engineering as a profession could effectively become obsolete within the next 12 months. While this warning may have divided opinion, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu argues it should be taken seriously, especially as it comes from a company that currently has some of the most advanced AI tools for coding.
Amodei made the warning last month while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he highlighted how quickly artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs, productivity and the global economy. During the panel discussion, Dario Amodei suggested that the impact of AI on employment is no longer a distant or theoretical concern. While the comments from the Anthropic CEO have gone viral on social media, drawing agreement from some and scepticism from others, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has reiterated the comments from Antropic CEO urging people not to dismiss the warning. Responding to a video clip of Amodei’s remarks shared on X, Vembu says that the warning needs serious attention as it is coming from someone leading a company which offers best AI tools to write code. “We better pay attention to him because he has the best coding tool in the world,” Vembu wrote in his post.
As for the Anthropic chief’s warning at Davos, Amodei explained that AI is already shifting from being a tool that helps humans work faster to one that increasingly does the work itself. Software development, he said, is one of the clearest examples of this transition. Giving an example of his own company, he reveals that engineers at Anthropic no longer write code on a daily basis, instead they rely on AI models to generate most of it, while stepping in mainly to review and edit the output. “I have engineering leads who have basically said to me, 'I don't write any code anymore. I just let Opus do the work and I edit it,” he said.
Although Amodei’s warning focuses on coders, he has cautioned that its impact will be felt far beyond software teams. He warned that AI could lead to significant job losses across industries. “We basically have a Moore’s Law for intelligence where the model is getting more and more cognitively capable every few months,” he said at Davos. Amodei argues that as AI systems take on more complex tasks, the need for large teams of human programmers could shrink sharply, potentially eliminating entire job categories that took decades to build.
If there is one job that is feeling the impact of artificial intelligence most acutely, it is software engineering. Much of the core work, particularly coding, is increasingly being handled by AI systems. IT giants like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are already using AI to write parts of their new codebases, and this level of automation is expected to increase further. Citing this ongoing shift, Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, has warned that software engineering as a profession could effectively become obsolete within the next 12 months. While this warning may have divided opinion, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu argues it should be taken seriously, especially as it comes from a company that currently has some of the most advanced AI tools for coding.
Amodei made the warning last month while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he highlighted how quickly artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs, productivity and the global economy. During the panel discussion, Dario Amodei suggested that the impact of AI on employment is no longer a distant or theoretical concern. While the comments from the Anthropic CEO have gone viral on social media, drawing agreement from some and scepticism from others, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has reiterated the comments from Antropic CEO urging people not to dismiss the warning. Responding to a video clip of Amodei’s remarks shared on X, Vembu says that the warning needs serious attention as it is coming from someone leading a company which offers best AI tools to write code. “We better pay attention to him because he has the best coding tool in the world,” Vembu wrote in his post.
As for the Anthropic chief’s warning at Davos, Amodei explained that AI is already shifting from being a tool that helps humans work faster to one that increasingly does the work itself. Software development, he said, is one of the clearest examples of this transition. Giving an example of his own company, he reveals that engineers at Anthropic no longer write code on a daily basis, instead they rely on AI models to generate most of it, while stepping in mainly to review and edit the output. “I have engineering leads who have basically said to me, 'I don't write any code anymore. I just let Opus do the work and I edit it,” he said.
Although Amodei’s warning focuses on coders, he has cautioned that its impact will be felt far beyond software teams. He warned that AI could lead to significant job losses across industries. “We basically have a Moore’s Law for intelligence where the model is getting more and more cognitively capable every few months,” he said at Davos. Amodei argues that as AI systems take on more complex tasks, the need for large teams of human programmers could shrink sharply, potentially eliminating entire job categories that took decades to build.