AI is here, and it has changed the role of the software engineer forever. With self-writing scripts and AI-powered debuggers popping up, it feels like every other day there’s a new question about whether machines are about to take over our work. So, is AI the ultimate assistant we’ve been wanting, or is it a sign that our roles as software engineers are changing drastically? Let’s explore what’s really happening.

My epiphany

Guy with an epiphany

The tech world is buzzing with talk about AI’s impact on software engineering, and honestly, who isn’t talking about it? The wollowing is something that came to my mind while looking into revamping my coding abilities.

I have a background in software engineering and tech consulting, having worked in those roles for a decade. But about 7 years ago, I shifted from the technical world to the software product management role. A couple of months ago, I realized that my tech skills were rusty, and I decided to catch up. My first thought was the old-school approach: dive into a new language, learn a hot framework. However, I came across the new reality… being a software engineer today is way different from what it was 7 years ago.

Engineers may now be spending more time reviewing AI-generated code, defining problem requirements, or testing AI outputs. This is impacting the role, since engineers who adapt can become higher-level thinkers—focusing on problem-solving, quality, security—rather than just writing code. Why spend countless hours learning syntax or copy-pasting boilerplate code when an AI agent can whip up decent code in seconds, as long as you know how to talk to it? That was when I realized. It wasn’t about catching up to the old game; it was about understanding the new game.

With AI or against AI

Something we hear nowadays almost on a daily basis is “AI will replace us all”… well, not today, at least from my point of view. I don’t personally see it happening in the short term. Why? I can’t think of such a change scaling in the current world. I think that eventually it may happen, but before that, humanity will need to get together and think about how to face such a change.

Until that day comes, the AI is a powerful assistant to work with, mainly with repetitive and boring coding tasks, leaving us more time to focus on more complex logic. From boilerplate code to basic PoCs and even MVPs, we can ask the AI agents to write the basics of our project and continue the work by adding more complex stuff.

We could even use it to create test cases and improve code coverage.

With all these mundane coding tasks being performed by AI, the software engineer can focus their efforts on higher-level tasks, such as system design and architecture, ensuring scalability, security and maintainability. Some also argue AI tools could introduce errors or security issues, so engineers still need strong oversight and validation skills.

Bottom line? Let’s embrace AI as our main ally. It’s about working smarter, focusing on what genuinely matters, and making every minute count.

SWE Using AI

The near future

What could we expect from our role in the next few years? If we are able to leverage the advantages of AI and work with it — and not against it —, we’ll definitely become more productive and have more time to innovate and build better solutions.

Also, we’ll have more time to spend understanding business needs, better translating them into tech solutions and, in consequence, deliver the best value out of our software.

So, if you’re a software engineer right now, you don’t need to learn anything new—just get confident in using AI tools, improve your testing and validation skills, and focus on clarifying why and what, not just the “how.” That mindset shift will help you not only survive, but thrive, in this evolving landscape.

Concerning our mid-long-term future…. We’ll see 🙃