Simon Willison noted on Hacker News that many software engineers feel disheartened when coding agents complete a week’s worth of work in an hour. This initial reaction stems from the realisation that translating exact specifications into decent code is no longer a unique human skill. Once professionals accept this shift, they can focus on the broader set of problems that remain unsolved by automation. Their existing experience allows them to master these new tools and provide value that novices building software with agents cannot match.
This sentiment suggests that the speed of change in software development is merely an acceleration of a historical pattern where tools and languages shift frequently. Choosing this career path has always meant opting into radical change rather than expecting stability beyond a five-year horizon. The profession will continue to evolve, but depth of knowledge remains the key differentiator.
* Coding agents currently execute specific tasks far faster than humans.
* Long-term value comes from deep experience rather than manual coding speed.
* Historical shifts in tools have never offered more than five years of stability.
