Hey there, I’m Adrian. Recently, I’ve been asked several times about how AI affects developers and whether it threatens jobs. So, I thought I’d take a moment to share my thoughts on the matter.
Let me start by saying I understand the anxiety around AI. It’s natural to feel uneasy when new technology emerges that seems powerful. But we need to see AI for what it truly is: a tool. Not a replacement for human beings but a tool to enhance our work.
As someone who hires and works with developers, I want to clarify that AI doesn’t threaten our roles.
I have written this article as a conclusion and I hope you will like it! 🙂
Yours faithfully,
Adrian, Skynet.
AI: A Powerful Tool, Not a Threat
There’s a lot of fear around AI replacing developers. But the truth is, no employer I know, myself included, wants to replace their people with AI. Why? Because working with people is fun. Building teams, creating together, collaborating—it’s all part of what makes businesses thrive. We don’t hire people just to complete tasks; we hire them for their creativity, problem-solving abilities, and connection to a shared vision.
AI is excellent at enhancing what we do. It can fix problems faster, act as an auto-completer, and streamline coding processes. But what it can’t do is build meaningful relationships with clients or colleagues, understand the cultural nuances of a team, or push a product forward with passion and creativity.
Yes, AI can handle repetitive tasks and even some technical stuff. However, the real value of a developer goes far beyond the lines of code they write. It’s about thinking outside the box, connecting the code to the bigger picture, and driving the vision of a project forward.
Why Employers Won’t Replace You with AI
I’ll be honest: employers love working with people. Managing teams can be stressful, but it’s gratifying. Building something together as a team creates a sense of ownership and responsibility that AI can never replace.
Even if AI becomes more advanced, it will still be a tool—a better one, maybe—but still a tool. AI can't replace the culture, relationships, and shared experiences that make a company what it is. It’s simply not capable of that.
LinkedIn poll post about this topic: Link
AI is Powerful But Soulless. What Does This Mean?
AI is undeniably powerful. It can generate impressive images, process vast amounts of data, and even imitate certain aspects of human creativity. But despite all of this, AI is soulless.
Recently, I found myself staring at a pencil drawing by a family member—a depiction of a centuries-old building. Though I’m not typically someone who delves deeply into art, this piece made me pause. I wondered what the artist was thinking and feeling as they captured that moment.
What was the mood?
What emotions did they experience?
This is something I have never felt while looking at an AI-generated image. AI creations may be technically flawless, but they lack depth, they lack a story, and ultimately, they lack soul. This difference became even clearer during one of my trips to Triberg in the Black Forest of Germany.
The region is rich with inspiration—cloud-covered forests, waterfalls, and a history that includes literary giants like Ernest Hemingway, who once stayed at the same hotel we did. There is an intangible power in these places, an energy that sparks creativity and moves the human spirit in ways that no machine can understand or replicate.
This muse-like force draws us in and fuels our creativity, making us unique. AI, by contrast, is just a tool—it doesn’t feel or connect with the world the way we do. It can mimic and assist, but it cannot replace the human experience that gives art its meaning. AI-generated images, for all their precision, often feel empty, devoid of the emotions and stories that human artists bring to their work.
They may look impressive on the surface, but they lack the soul that makes art truly resonate with people. In the end, AI might be powerful, but it can never capture the essence of what it means to be human, and that’s something no algorithm will ever change.
How Triberg Waterfalls looks like:
How AI think it looks like 😀
Do we need AI competency?
In this evolving landscape, it’s essential to ask ourselves: do we have the AI competency needed within our teams or as a company?
AI is a fantastic tool, but it requires the right understanding and skills to be used effectively. For experienced senior developers, AI can enhance productivity.
A great tool for seniors
They know how to prompt it correctly, evaluate its output, and decide if the results are usable or need refinement. These developers understand how to refactor AI-generated code and recognize when AI produces errors, ensuring it doesn’t negatively affect the workflow.
Juniors should be aware
However, it’s a different story for junior developers. With limited experience, they might rely too heavily on AI’s suggestions without fully grasping the context or detecting when AI outputs hallucinations or incorrect information. If that faulty code is implemented without proper scrutiny, it can disrupt high-maturity workflows and lead to issues down the line.
This is why we need an AI competency plan that ensures everyone knows how to use AI within their specific role and context. Tools like ChatGPT are excellent for finding solutions to complex problems and can be useful at any stage of development. However, AI code completion and generation require a much more careful approach.
What AI is for us developers
AI should be viewed as an extension of a developer's abilities, not a substitute for critical thinking. It’s a powerful auto-completer that anticipates what we want to type and speeds up our work, but it shouldn’t be relied upon blindly.
Developing AI competency means understanding how to integrate AI into our workflow effectively while maintaining the human element of creativity and problem-solving. Let’s build on this and ensure our teams are equipped to use AI as a tool, not as a crutch.
The Key Takeaway
AI isn’t here to take your job. It’s here to make your job e
asier, to help you focus on the big picture, and to empower you to deliver better results. If you feel like AI is a threat, don’t worry. Instead, learn to use it. Master it as a tool that will help you grow, not replace you.
And if you find yourself worried about being replaced by AI, consider this: if AI can genuinely replace what you do right now, maybe it’s time to expand your skills and push yourself further. AI isn’t "good" enough yet to replace the creativity, problem-solving, and vision developers bring.
So, that’s my take on the AI situation. I believe in learning and growing alongside it, not fearing it. Let’s use it as a tool to become better developers and not let it become a mental block.
What do you think? Let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have a great day,
Adrian
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