Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have warned that artificial intelligence could replace the majority of software engineering jobs with AI already writing over half of the code in many companies.
Vembu, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated that AI will likely handle 90% of programming work, eliminating “boilerplate” or repetitive coding tasks. However he emphasized that human programmers remain essential for solving complex problems and discovering new patterns in software development.
Sam Altman echoed this sentiment, noting that while AI-powered tools enable software engineers to achieve much more, the overall demand for coders may decline in the future. He pointed out that the rise of “agentic coding” where AI autonomously develops software could further accelerate this shift.
Vembu who stepped down as Zoho’s CEO earlier this year to focus on AI research stressed that despite automation core human expertise in software engineering will continue to play a critical role.