The future of software engineering may look drastically different within the next decade, and according to Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, much of that future will depend on how well engineers adapt to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. In a recent Ask Me Anything session on Instagram, Bosworth outlined both his short-term and long-term expectations for AI’s role in shaping the profession. His comments suggest a growing divide between developers who fully embrace AI and those who fail to adapt.
A Profession Split Into “Haves and Have-Nots”
Bosworth predicted that AI will deepen the tiering of capability among software engineers. Developers who learn to master AI tools, he argued, will command a significant premium in the job market, while those who ignore or resist these tools may find themselves relegated to less impactful roles.
“The engineers who master the tools to the point that they can’t themselves be replaced by the tools command a premium,” Bosworth explained. “And the people who don’t master the tools end up working below the tool layer, in data gathering, labeling tasks; they end up in tasks that for whatever reason the machine isn’t good at and aren’t high-leverage.”
This dynamic mirrors other technological shifts in history, where those quick to adapt reap the benefits and those who lag behind face limited opportunities. Bosworth believes that AI will redraw the boundaries of what constitutes high-value engineering work.
Comparing AI’s Benefits to the Internet Revolution
To illustrate his point, Bosworth drew comparisons between AI adoption today and the rise of the internet in the 1990s and 2000s. Back then, developers suddenly had access to a vast pool of shared knowledge from forums explaining obscure compiler errors to community-generated documentation that made navigating complex APIs far easier.
In the short term, he sees AI as playing a similar role: not replacing developers outright but dramatically reducing friction in their daily workflows. “AI makes our lives easier in the same way the internet made our lives easier,” Bosworth said.
For engineers, this could mean everything from faster debugging and code generation to automated testing, giving them more time to focus on higher-level problem solving and creative tasks.
Long-Term: Small Teams, Massive Reach
Looking further ahead, Bosworth painted a picture of an industry transformed by leverage, productivity, and complexity gains. With AI as a co-pilot, he believes a handful of engineers could do the work that once required large teams.
“We’ll see companies with a couple of employees and billions of users,” he predicted, underscoring the potential for AI to dramatically expand the capabilities of small, talent-dense teams.
This prediction aligns with a growing vision among tech leaders: AI as an enabler of leaner, more efficient startups that can scale at unprecedented speed. While Bosworth admitted it’s “hard to say how it’s going to land,” he was clear that he sees AI as an accelerant for industry growth rather than a job-destroying force.
Zuckerberg’s Similar Vision for AI in Engineering
Bosworth’s perspective echoes the views of his boss, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has been vocal about AI’s role in reshaping software engineering.
Back in January, Zuckerberg predicted that Meta and other companies could soon rely on AI systems that function as “midlevel engineers” capable of writing production-grade code. By May, he was emphasizing how AI will allow founders to launch companies with just “very small, talent-dense teams,” reducing the need to build out large, traditional departments.
Zuckerberg has consistently tied this vision to Meta’s broader “efficiency” agenda, which has already led to tens of thousands of layoffs since 2022. Internally, Meta has gone so far as to let job candidates use AI in some coding interviews, signaling how central these tools have become to the company’s hiring philosophy.
The Bottom Line: Adapt or Fall Behind
For Bosworth, the message is clear: AI is not a passing trend, but a defining shift in the future of engineering. In the near term, it will make developers’ lives easier much like the internet did a generation ago. In the long term, it could enable tiny teams to build companies serving millions, even billions, of users.
But whether engineers thrive in this new landscape will depend on their willingness to master the tools. Those who do will remain indispensable. Those who don’t may find themselves left behind, performing tasks the machines haven’t yet conquered.
