Do you think software will lose its value as a product to build?
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Building software is literally getting easier and easier. What I’ve noticed is that just a few years ago, you really needed knowledge, a team, and solid know-how to make the whole process work.
But now, with all these tools popping up on the market almost daily—like Cursor, Bolt, Lovable, and so many others—it’s incredibly easy to build software.
It’s just like how building a website used to require developers, then later, anyone with basic WordPress skills could do it, and now, with AI, almost anyone can create a site effortlessly.
Do you think software development will follow the same path? Will it get so easy that you won’t even need to be a programmer anymore?
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I think AI will consume almost all SaaS. As AI becomes more powerful it will be able to do almost everything and so it will be easier to just go to you fav AI and ask it to 'send email to all your clients for product x' or 'give analytics on project y for the past week'.
Development cost is going to 0. Inteligence cost is going to 0.
And I think this will graduetly happen in the next 5 years or so
There will still be a need for programmers and developers, it’s all going to depend on who is progressing with the time versus who isn’t. As a beginner I see code like a puzzle a very large and colourful one, and that you have to adapt to the puzzle as or if it changes or grows. Every entry level to things changes as humans and tech advances. So dominant the new stuff or stick with what I know?
The value never came from the product by itself, it was always from solving user's pain point in an efficient manner. The software product just happened to be a medium to solve that problem better than the other means. So, to answer your question, the software product will always have it's value whether it's built with or without AI's assistance as long as it solves a problem a tangible problem.
Fine
I think to some level, yes. We already see this happening. We rarely do FE work ourselves. All our FE engineers switched roles and nowadays do mostly backend work.
For simple CRUD apps, I think what you're describing is already a reality.
I believe software development will follow the same trend as (almost) anything else...there will be some who want quick and fast (and will use the tools available) and those who want thorough, thoughtful and substantial (and will want to work with a programmer/developer).
With all the tools (new) tools (becoming) available, we're seeing a lot of forks, variations and derivatives - this allows people to go/get "quick and fast". However, most software that have a large community backing/supporting it took a good amount of time to get to that point. These options will be more thorough, thoughtful and substantial.
So to answer the question, "Will it get so easy that you won’t even need to be a programmer anymore?"...depends on the clientele the programmer/developer is looking to serve.
If they're serving the "quick and fast" group....O_o!
If they're looking to serve the "thorough, thoughtful and substantial" group, they may have a little more time to determine how to leverage the newer tools to go "deeper" into their existing work and impact/transform how development occurs moving forward.
#JustMyTwoCents
This is a really valid point, and one that’s already playing out across several layers of software development.
Low-code/no-code platforms, AI copilots, and modular frameworks have definitely lowered the barrier to entry. Tasks that once needed a full dev team can now be handled by solo builders or even non-tech professionals. But I think it's less about software losing value and more about the definition of value shifting.
As the how becomes easier, the what and why become more critical. Domain expertise, UX thinking, system design, scalability, integration, and security will still demand deep understanding, especially for production-level or enterprise-grade software.
So while software development may become more democratized, the demand for skilled engineers who can architect robust, scalable, and secure systems isn’t going anywhere. The craft is evolving, not disappearing.