Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: “AI Will Replace 90% of Developers in 6 Months”

The future of coding is about to change forever, and if Dario Amodei is right, software engineers might need to rethink their careers sooner than expected. The CEO of Anthropic, the AI research company behind Claude, recently made a bold claim: within 3-6 months, AI will be writing 90% of all code. And in a year? AI could be writing all of it.

This prediction is not just a speculative statement—it’s a direct reflection of the rapid pace at which AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and OpenAI’s latest models are evolving. AI has already significantly accelerated development workflows, and if Amodei’s timeline holds true, software engineers may soon shift from writing code to supervising, debugging, and optimizing AI-generated outputs.

While this could lead to massive efficiency gains, it also raises concerns about the future of junior developers and those entering the field. Will traditional coding skills become obsolete, or will they morph into new roles centered around AI-driven software development? The coming months may provide answers to one of the biggest technological shifts in recent history.

The Death of Traditional Coding?

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, Amodei argued that programming is one of the fields where AI is advancing the fastest. According to him, we are just months away from a world where AI automates nearly every coding task.

This doesn’t mean human programmers will be entirely obsolete overnight. Amodei clarified that humans will still be needed to specify the app’s purpose, make design decisions, and oversee the process. But the actual act of writing code? That’s heading straight for full automation.

This statement aligns with what other tech leaders have been predicting. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has said that AI will become “the best coder in the world” by the end of 2025. Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that AI is already responsible for more than 25% of the code written at Google. Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger also mentioned that developers will soon be doing more code reviewing than actual writing.

What Happens to Software Engineers?

If AI takes over coding, what happens to developers? Companies may shift their hiring strategies, focusing on senior engineers who can guide AI models rather than junior developers who typically write the code. This could mean fewer entry-level programming jobs and a growing need for engineers who specialize in AI oversight, debugging, and software architecture.

Universities and online courses might also need to adapt. The traditional “learn to code” mantra may become obsolete as AI takes over. Instead, the focus could shift to teaching people how to effectively communicate with AI systems, ensuring they generate the right code and follow best practices.

Some developers may find this change exciting—coding could become more about creativity, problem-solving, and big-picture thinking rather than writing repetitive functions. But for many, this shift is unsettling.

“I Quit” Button

Beyond coding, Amodei touched on another bizarre idea: giving AI models an “I Quit” button. The concept? AI should be able to refuse tasks it finds undesirable. While this sounds like science fiction, it raises deep ethical questions about AI autonomy. If an AI model repeatedly refuses to perform a task, does that indicate it has some form of preference or even consciousness?

While Amodei didn’t claim AI is sentient, he suggested developers should consider whether advanced AI models experience anything at all. If AI systems can express a preference, should those preferences be respected? And if an AI refuses to do something, what does that mean for businesses relying on them?

Who Really Controls AI?

Despite branding itself as an independent AI lab, Anthropic is more intertwined with Big Tech than many realize. New filings reveal that Google owns 14% of the company and is set to invest another $750 million this year. That brings Google’s total investment in Anthropic to over $3 billion.

While Google doesn’t have direct control over Anthropic’s decisions, this financial backing raises questions about the power dynamic in AI development. If AI is truly about to replace developers, who will own and control the technology? How much influence does Google really have? And how will it impact the broader job market?

Regulators have already started scrutinizing these investments, questioning whether tech giants like Google are quietly consolidating power over the AI industry. As AI continues to reshape the workforce, these financial ties could become an even bigger point of contention.

Závěr

We’ve seen AI revolutionize many industries, but coding has always been considered a human-driven craft. If Amodei’s predictions hold true, that era is ending. AI-powered tools like GitHub Copilot and Claude Code are already speeding up development work, but full automation of software engineering could reshape the industry faster than expected.

Will developers adapt and find new roles, or will AI truly make traditional coding a thing of the past? One thing is certain: the next 12 months will be crucial in determining the future of software development as we know it.

AI’s rapid advancement is pushing the boundaries of what was once thought possible. If coding is just another skill that AI can master, it forces us to ask deeper questions: What happens when AI overtakes other knowledge-based jobs? How will societies adapt to a world where automation is the default?

For developers, the future may not be about writing code but about guiding AI, interpreting its decisions, and focusing on the broader impact of technology. While the shift is unsettling for many, it also presents opportunities for those willing to embrace change.

The next year will be a defining moment in the relationship between AI and software development. Whether this leads to a new golden age of innovation or a disruption on an unprecedented scale remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the age of AI-driven development is no longer a distant possibility—it’s happening now.