PredictionArticle

Despite dramatic improvements in AI model performance, the majority of engineers will not be laid off — if anything, developers are busier than ever.

NeetCode pushes back on predictions that AI will wipe out coding jobs, arguing developers are actually busier than ever despite rapid model improvements. ✦ AI generated

NeetCode (Navdeep Singh) · The Pragmatic Engineer · 2026-06-24 · original ↗

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Despite dramatic improvements in the performance of AI models, Neet does not foresee the majority of engineers being laid off. In fact, he sees the opposite: devs are busier than ever.

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Mechanism · 1

Coding is only a small part of software engineering, and it's a part that AI won't erase the rest of: through your work you also build confidence, make connections with other people, and develop your personal understanding of the domain, none of which disappear just because coding gets automated.Kent Beck · The Pragmatic Engineer · conf 75%

Evidence · 1

There is enormous demand for software and very little supply of engineering relative to that demand, so the productivity boost from AI will be absorbed rather than reduce the number of engineers needed.Sarah · No Priors · conf 90%

Counterpoint · 2

Major tech companies are now conducting layoffs that are explicitly driven by AI replacing middle-management and measurement roles, not just post-pandemic bloat reduction, which is creating a dystopian perception of the technology.Jason · All-In Podcast · conf 70%David Sacks has sympathy for Bernie Sanders' proposal to seize 50% of AI companies via a sovereign wealth fund because the AI CEOs' own doomsaying about mass job loss justifies the public demanding a stake, though he opposes outright confiscation.David Sacks · All-In Podcast · conf 60%

This moment responds to

supports → It is inaccurate and psychologically harmful to claim that all jobs are going away or that AI will create a permanent underclass.Matan Grinberg · The Generalist supports → There is no AI-driven jobs crisis as of now — the overall occupational mix in the economy has not shifted in ways that clearly track AI adoption, and measured AI usage shows no connection to employment or unemployment changes.Yale Budget Lab · Platformer rebuts → Technology has always displaced jobs, but the danger this time is that the speed of AI-driven job destruction is outpacing the creation of new jobs and society's ability to retrain workers, exemplified by a 50-something truck driver whose livelihood vanishes to automation.Glenn Fogel · No Priors rebuts → The economics profession and policymakers are not prepared for the scale of labor-market disruption that transformative AI is about to cause, even though views within the profession have shifted noticeably toward taking this risk seriously.Erik Brynjolfsson · Platformer rebuts → AI is causing a double whammy on course sales: fear over whether developer jobs will still exist makes people reluctant to invest time or money learning new dev skills, and those who still want to learn can get free personalized tutoring from LLMs instead of buying a course.Josh W. Comeau · Simon Willison's Weblog rebuts → Every single job will either be replaced or enhanced by AI, and a future where GDP, profit margins, and wages grow while employment stagnates may be an acceptable outcome.Marc Rowan · a16z Podcast supports → Coding is only a small part of software engineering, and it's a part that AI won't erase the rest of: through your work you also build confidence, make connections with other people, and develop your personal understanding of the domain, none of which disappear just because coding gets automated.Kent Beck · The Pragmatic Engineer gives example → There is no AI-driven jobs crisis as of now — the overall occupational mix in the economy has not shifted in ways that clearly track AI adoption, and measured AI usage shows no connection to employment or unemployment changes.Yale Budget Lab · Platformer