On Wednesday, Chamath Palihapitiya, a well-known investor and former Facebook executive, shared a bleak outlook for the role of engineers in the near future.
What Happened: The venture capitalist stated, “Unfortunate but accurate in response to a post on X, which stated, ‘I No longer think you should learn to code.” The engineer's role will be supervisory, at best, within 18 months. Building tools for them will be roadkill for the model makers product roadmap.”
In the same thread, Palihapitiya advised parents to encourage their children to focus on fields like philosophy, psychology, history, physics, and English writing, hinting at the changing landscape of valuable skills due to AI’s rise.
An X user noted that “coherently explaining” business rules poses the most significant challenge in software design, a point with which Palihapitiya wholeheartedly agreed.
Why It Matters: Palihapitiya’s comments come amidst a broader discussion on the future of work in an AI-dominated world. His new AI venture has been highlighted as a potential game-changer that could disrupt the software market.
Moreover, his prediction aligns with sentiments from other tech leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, who recently suggested that AI could soon replace midlevel software engineers.
AI prompt engineers, who train chatbots like ChatGPT, are in high demand, with salaries reaching up to $335,000. The role does not require a tech background, but strong logical thinking and basic computer skills are beneficial. As AI adoption accelerates, companies are prioritizing skills over experience in hiring, according to a previous report.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal
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