Meta’s CTO: Programming Will Split Between AI Experts and Those Who Can’t Master It

⬤ Meta’s Chief Technology Officer said that artificial intelligence will grow the field of programming rather than shrink it.

⬤ “Boz” believes AI will be the main factor separating successful programmers from irrelevant ones.

⬤ He predicts that small programming teams will soon be able to serve billions of users.

Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth (known as “Boz”), shared his vision for the future of software engineering in the age of artificial intelligence, predicting a clear divide between engineers who master AI tools and those who fail to use them effectively.

Bosworth said that “engineers who master the tools so well that they can’t be replaced by them will gain much higher market value,” while those who don’t will end up doing secondary work such as data collection or labeling, or other tasks where machines are still weak and less impactful.

Bosworth compared the benefits AI brings to those that the internet once offered, such as the ability to look up compiler errors through Google or find better API documentation thanks to online communities. He explained that in the short term, AI “makes our lives easier in the same way the internet once did,” but in the long term, it will give engineers real “leverage” to boost productivity and build more complex systems with fewer resources.

He believes the software industry won’t shrink because of AI but will instead expand, predicting that we’ll see companies with only a few employees serving billions of users. “It’s hard to say exactly where things will settle,” he added.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shares similar views. Earlier this year, he said he expects Meta to develop an AI system that could be considered a “mid-level engineer” capable of writing code. In May, he added that AI will help founders build small, highly efficient teams, whereas companies 20 years ago needed to develop all expertise internally.

Since 2022, Zuckerberg has spoken about achieving “greater efficiency” at Meta, which has laid off tens of thousands of employees since the pandemic. Earlier this year, the company also announced plans to allow job candidates to use AI tools during certain coding tests.