korrents

korrents · piece

Why AI hasn’t replaced software engineers, and won’t

Arvind Narayanan · 11 Jun 2026

Read the piece on normaltech.ai ↗

3 korrents from this piece ↓

Arvind Narayanan did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    AI automates the execution phase of software engineering but leaves decision-making and accountability largely to humans.

    Their wordsAI has compressed the middle of the sandwich, but has left the two ends largely unchanged.

  2. Our reading

    Production software cannot be built by unskilled vibe coders replacing trained software engineers.

    Their wordscompanies can't ship production software by hiring unqualified vibe coders instead of software engineers.

  3. Our reading

    The real barrier to programming is exercising sound judgment and accountability, not learning syntax.

    Their wordsThe barrier isn't actually learning the syntax. It's having enough skilled judgment to make good decisions while maintaining accountability.

Keep reading