What do you think the future looks like for developers when it comes to AI?
ICYMI: @levelsio shipped a flight simulator game last week. It's pretty fun, it's got some low poly / minecraft-esque graphics, pretty good physics, a turbo boost, and even PvP. The kicker is he built it, at least the version one anyway entirely by prompting @Cursor.
It got me thinking about a question that a ton of people have tried to answer in the past few years; What does the future look like for someone getting into development?
I think developers will still be highly sought after for any startup or company but I can imagine teams becoming smaller, and the workload becoming more efficient with things like bug tickets, pull requests, code reviews becoming a lot more automated.
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I think that some basic jobs and entry-level development jobs will gradually be replaced by AI. And there is already such a trend now. Activities that don't require much thinking can be replaced. But for deeper work that requires the use of human thinking and experience, AI should assist people in their work. Development should also pay more attention to learning about AI to improve work efficiency
Product Hunt
@new_user___047202507fafee1f4dfbc94 I get what you're saying, and I think that shift is already happening. AI is great for automating the repetitive, low-level stuff, but the deeper problem-solving and decision-making still need a human touch.
Product Hunt
Exciting times ahead for anyone just getting into development. It's at a stage now where you can basically "prompt something into existence"(even if it's not fully functional or perfect) if you have idea for a tool/product. Personally, I think devs of the future will be playing legos with what these AI agents output you instead of putting something together from the ground up with api libraries.
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@rajsb_ Yeah, I totally see that happening. It’s less about writing every line from scratch and more about knowing how to structure, refine, and guide AI-generated code into something actually useful.
Feels like the shift is from pure coding to orchestrating systems, understanding what pieces to connect, debugging AI output, and making sure everything works seamlessly.
Do you think this will make junior devs ramp up faster, or will it actually make it harder to learn fundamentals since they’re skipping the "build from scratch" phase?
Product Hunt
@hussein_r Definitely it's gonna get them faster to that MVP, but I think it's worth learning the fundamentals or sometimes even re-learning what you might vaguely know is going to help in the long run if something breaks at some point :)
Product Hunt
@rajsb_ completely agree with all of this
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That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about lately. AI is making devs way more efficient, but it’s not replacing them, it’s just shifting the skills needed. I can see a future where smaller teams ship bigger projects faster, and devs focus more on problem-solving, system design, and AI orchestration rather than just writing raw code.
Bug fixing, PR reviews, and even refactoring will become way more automated, but creativity, architecture, and high-level decision-making will still need human intuition.
Do you think there’s a risk of too much automation making devs overly reliant on AI, or is that just the natural evolution of coding?
Product Hunt
@hussein_r Yeah, I’ve been thinking about this too. On one hand, junior devs might be able to build things faster than ever, but if they’re skipping the “from scratch” phase, are they really learning the fundamentals? It’s like giving someone a fully-assembled IKEA shelf and asking them to become a carpenter.
I mean, the more I've used chatgpt as a writing crutch, the more I've felt my writing skills take a hit, I'm sure the same can be said across industries.
Graphify
@aaronoleary Yeah, I get that. It’s like using a GPS all the time and then realizing you have no clue how to read a map. AI speeds up the process, but if you never struggle through the fundamentals, you’re kinda just assembling pieces without fully understanding how they fit.
I’ve seen this in coding too, some juniors can build stuff crazy fast with AI, but ask them to debug a weird edge case or optimize something, and they hit a wall. Maybe the future is about balancing both, using AI as a boost but still making sure you’re leveling up your core skills.
Product Hunt
Personally feel that the way people break into development will change and the expectations of developers will change.
People will now be able to learn alongside AI tools and discover a new passion for dev work this way vs starting with codecademy, tutorials, or docs
Devs (junior and above) will become expected to learn how to utilize these tools and show their ability to effectively use them to increase performance, reduce cost, and/or innovate.
I'm actually curious what dev interviews will look like down the road as well.
Product Hunt
@gabe dev interviews is definitely something i'm interested in seeing the evolution of!
I believe AI cannot replace humans; it can only assist us. Human creativity is irreplaceable. Artificial intelligence will help us make the process of realizing our creativity simpler. Therefore, learning to use AI tools is also a part of enhancing our own capabilities
The future will be everyone with agency and a work ethic becoming a developer :)
Developers will remain sought after and always be needed, as AI can’t tackle every complex task (a human touch is still needed). However, AI will help speed up processes, requiring developers to work alongside it.
AI for developers is evolving fast, but beyond that, we’re seeing a shift where AI-powered tools automate workflows, freeing teams from repetitive work. As someone deeply involved in workflow automation, I’m curious—how do you see AI transforming the way teams manage their daily operations, beyond just coding?
My opinion brings out the worst in devs, but I’m saying it anyway.
Devs are cooked, and soon(very soon) AI will be better at coding than any developer in the world.
AI can already create absurd things on its own, but we’re still early, and there’s a learning curve. I just don’t know how steep that curve really is.
I’ve been creating production-ready apps using only AI, but I’ve also been experimenting with AI since the beginning—way before tools like Cursor even existed.
The hype is real, and I get a lot of hate from devs when I post this on Reddit or Twitter :x
@bruno_bertapeli Can the AI do without a prompt? Can AI correct itself without a prompt? Can AI know or see all errors when done? Can AI do without developers?
With due respect, think about it and re-answer yourself: "If Devs are cooked, and soon(very soon), AI will be better at coding than any developer in the world."
The worst AI can do is still going to be assisting expert and experienced developers. Development is not all about coding
We, the developers, think about the problem we are solving.
We wireframe the solution to the problem.
We structure the codebase.
AI can start working based on our codebase and the problem, using the wireframe as a guide.
Nothing can replace a developer I mean a real developer, am not talking about those that do just drag-and-drop users or HTML starters. A real back-end and front-end developer.
This opens doors for us to manage the codebases of big companies like Google, Facebook, etc.
Just think, man! 🚀
For me, the most valuable skills will be critical thinking, domain knowledge, and the ability to refine AI-generated outputs. Experienced engineers and new devs alike should focus on adaptability—leveraging AI while mastering the principles that drive scalable, efficient, and secure software.
Other than employment it's the time to prepare for single owner service business so as to ensure personal brand building for better future financially that can be scalable with right clients acquisitions and sustainability in recent and upcoming corporate employment reconstruction plans.
as someone said: vibe coding is great until you have to do vibe debugging 🐞😬