AI Can Generate Code, but Engineers Are Still Needed to Make Software Work

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Tech leaders Marc Benioff of Salesforce and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta have predicted that AI will transform software engineering, with Benioff citing productivity gains for possibly limiting 2025 hiring. The article argues that generating code is only one part of building dependable software, since engineers must grasp user needs, integrate changes into complex systems, and verify outcomes. A 2025 METR study of 16 experienced developers found they took about 19% longer on tasks with AI tools, even though they believed the tools had sped them up. Google's 2024 DORA research linked higher AI adoption to lower delivery stability across the organizations it studied, though it did not establish causation. The piece concludes that AI will reshape engineering work but will not remove the need for human judgment, review, and responsibility.

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