Anthropic lead engineer predicts ‘software engineer’ role can disappear by 2026

Anthropic’s lead engineer has issued a stark warning about the future of computer-based work. Speaking on a Podcast, Anthropic Lead Engineer Boris Cherny said advanced AI agents will soon expand into nearly every type of job done on a computer.

From software engineering to product management and design, he believes no digital role will remain untouched.

“It’s going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer,” Cherny said, warning that the shift will be disruptive and painful for many workers.

The transformation debate started after Claude Code launched, Anthropic’s AI coding agent. Unlike traditional chatbots that respond to prompts, Claude Code can run commands, build websites and execute multi-step technical tasks.

Cherny noted that productivity per engineer has already increased since its launch. He expects that acceleration to continue as agentic AI becomes more advanced.

In another appearance on a podcast, Cherny predicted that the job role of software engineer could become obsolete this year. Instead, these professionals could oversee AI systems that automatically develop and test software.

Despite the warning, Cherny advised professionals not to panic. “Don’t be scared of them,” Cherny said, advising professionals to learn more about how AI tools work and incorporate them into their work. Cherny believes that many professionals are just now experiencing the capabilities of agentic AI.

This warning comes at a time when economic concerns are on the rise. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr has warned that AI is already replacing young professionals in entry-level software and customer service jobs. Oxford Economics believes that as much as 20% of the US workforce could be disrupted by automation in the coming decades.

As AI agents grow more capable, the debate is no longer about whether change is coming. It is about how fast it will arrive and who will be prepared for it.