Software Engineer Transformation: Changes in the Role of AI Code Auditors in the Next Three Years

On a podcast, Anthropic's chief product officer Mike Kreiger shared his insights on future software development trends. He pointed out that as artificial intelligence continues to advance in the field of programming, the role of software developers will undergo a major change. He predicts that over the next three years, software engineers will focus more on reviewing AI-generated code rather than traditionally writing code.

Krieg believes that the gradual application of AI will allow developers to devote more time to abstract problems that AI cannot handle, especially in product innovation and design. He mentioned that future development work will focus on how to effectively manage and supervise these intelligent systems, and how to improve product quality by proposing appropriate ideas and optimizing user interaction design.

“I expect this will be the case for software development in the next three years,” Krieg said. "We need to assign tasks more effectively, master the methods of large-scale code review, or combine static analysis technology with AI-driven tools to ensure code quality." Although the addition of AI will accelerate the development process, Krieg firmly believes that the role of programmers will not be completely replaced, but will require a wider range of skills.

In addition, Krieg pointed out that although AI can improve efficiency in certain aspects, tasks such as ensuring consistent team goals, determining product direction, and solving user needs still require human participation. He stressed that these challenges are currently difficult to solve entirely by AI, and humans still need to play a key role in complexity and decision-making.

He also said Anthropic is acting as a “trial platform” to explore how to redefine the way key positions in the enterprise work through AI. With the continuous improvement of AI's programming capabilities, developers' work is shifting to higher-level functions, and software development will be more interdisciplinary in the future.

Mike Krieger's point of view reminds us that the future of software development will be a new era for a person to collaborate with AI, and programmers will move from traditional code writing to higher levels of creative and management.