Proton's CTO wrote a manifesto for the AI coding age. It struck a nerve with engineers.

Proton's Chief Technology Officer, Bart Butler, penned a manifesto addressing the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on software engineering. The memo, which resonated with engineers, declared that the traditional role of engineers, primarily writing code, has fundamentally changed. Butler argued that AI, specifically large language models (LLMs), is not there to assist in writing code more efficiently, but rather to help engineers write better code more quickly.

The manifesto struck a chord with many in the tech community, who appreciated its candid and somewhat blunt approach. OpenAI employee Peter Steinberger, who is also the creator of OpenClaw AI agent, acknowledged that Proton CEO Andy Yen "gets it." Steinberger expressed sympathy for the engineers who felt a loss of identity as AI redefined their jobs, while also understanding the business constraints that Yen might face.

Steinberger predicted that if AI's progress over the next two years is even half as fast as the current trajectory, the old role of software engineers would be obsolete.

Other influential figures echoed similar sentiments. Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) warned that any employees unhappy with the memo would face a "rough ride" as AI agents continue to evolve. He emphasized that the "real AI psychosis" stems from the misconception that AI is merely a tool or a "stochastic parrot" that requires human oversight for every line of code.

Instead, engineers must adapt to the new reality where they become team leaders of models and agents. SpaceX principal engineer Lauren Tan echoed this sentiment, stating that engineers are now "a team leader of models and agents," highlighting the need to embrace this new paradigm.