Santiago says companies need more people, not fewer, to run AI tools

Unpopular opinion: In 5 years, we'll need more software engineers than we do today. Not fewer. Everyone is calculating how many developers AI can replace. If a team of 3 can now do the work of 10, surely the other 7 are out of a job? I think that completely misses what's about to happen. For decades, the biggest constraint on software wasn't the lack of problems worth solving. It was the cost of solving them. Millions of businesses still run on spreadsheets, emails, WhatsApp messages, and outdated software. Not because they're happy with it, but because spending $200,000 on a custom system never made financial sense. Now imagine that same system costs $20,000. Suddenly, millions of businesses that couldn't afford software development become potential customers. Projects that were never viable become viable. Companies that already build software can afford to do ten times more. And here's the part people underestimate: the cheaper software becomes, the more reasons we'll find to build it. Of course, some jobs will disappear. Certain tasks that once required entire teams will be handled by a single engineer. But assuming the amount of software the world needs is fixed is a pretty strange assumption, especially in an industry where we've barely scratched the surface of what can be automated. I could be wrong, but I think we're heading toward an explosion in software demand, not the death of software engineering. We're confusing the declining cost of writing code with the declining demand for software engineers. They're not the same thing.