Mo AI, Mo Software
Speaking to a few people this week on how they use AI, here are my thoughts on what this means for building software and hiring.
The reality is that developers (and non-developers who are tech enthusiasts) are now building more software . I am experiencing this myself; I spent four to five hours with Claude to spruce up this blog. If I had to hand-code this, it would have taken me a few weeks at minimum. I probably wouldn't have taken it up at all, as it would have competed with my other priorities. Claude was a senior Javascript developer here - we planned it out together and it went and made the changes letting me even choose between two or three options (header,fonts, dark/light mode etc.). Just amazing.
The possibilities of what I can create have expanded. My mind is constantly churning out new ideas to build (personal tools, hobby projects etc.) that were previously out of reach. In a weekend, I can attempt a proof of concept to test its viability. It’s absolutely insane 🤯 and a builder’s delight 🛠️.
Parkinson’s law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". With AI, we can accomplish much more in a shorter time, but I beleive we'll simply fill that extra time by creating more software. It’s addictive. I am feeling the builder's addiction. I believe companies are going to be building a lot more software, especially internal tools they once ignored. These are the low-hanging fruits that will be snapped up with the help of AI.
Next, I believe we will see companies replacing custom tools provided by vendors with software they build themselves. This won’t be easy (who will be accountable then?), but some companies with dedicated tech teams will attempt it. Last month, I spoke to the founder of a financial service company who has already built a custom dashboard for their clients. They created the app in a month with one developer and are now getting ready to hire a couple of developers to automate processes and build more stuff for their clients.
There is joy in building your own product with its own personality - it’s like creating art. For me, building software is like sculpting. You start with a block of raw logic and slowly carve away at it until you have something beautiful and functional. You possibly cannot ever do this with a vendor building something you want and billing you by man-hour! Today, the power is with us. Anyone can be a software artist if you know what I mean.
On a side thought: Building software is just one part of the puzzle. One also needs to manage, update, and maintain it. Could autonomous agents handle the latter? I am optimistic and I am curious to see how this will pan out.
Ultimately, I believe AI will reduce the number of developers needed to build software, but at the same time, dramatically increase the amount of software companies want to build. And that's why I see more companies across industries hiring developers, including those that traditionally haven't had much need for in-house software teams. Smaller developer teams across companies are going to be building and managing a lot more software in the next few years!
I am extremely optimistic about this golden age of software.