Artificial intelligence is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace. From writing content to coding complex software, the reach of AI-powered tools has expanded dramatically over the past year. Large language models such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini now generate human-like text and code with surprising fluency. Companies are pushing further by developing autonomous AI agents capable of performing entire job functions with minimal human oversight.
Earlier this year, OpenAI unveiled its Deep Research agent, positioning it as a potential replacement for entry-level research assistants. Shortly thereafter, OpenAI introduced its Codex software engineering agent, designed to automate programming tasks. In response, Google launched its own AI coding agent, Jules, at the Google I/O 2025 conference, further signaling the growing race toward AI-driven coding.
The swift development of these tools has sparked both excitement and concern. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a stark warning, predicting that up to 50% of all white-collar entry-level jobs could be displaced by AI within the next one to five years. This forecast has fueled debates across tech circles about the future role of human engineers in an AI-powered world.
Amid this uncertainty, Google CEO Sundar Pichai is taking a more measured stance. In a recent podcast conversation with researcher Lex Fridman, Pichai provided insights into how AI is reshaping software development at Google—and why human engineers remain indispensable, at least for the foreseeable future.
AI’s Role in Google’s Software Development
According to Pichai, AI has already become an integral part of Google’s engineering workflows. Today, roughly 30% of the code written across Google’s platforms benefits from AI assistance in some capacity. Yet despite this progress, Pichai emphasized that AI tools are currently augmenting—not replacing—human capabilities.
“We’ve given various stats—around 30% of code now uses AI-generated solutions or whatever it is,” Pichai explained. “But the most important metric, and we carefully measure this, is how much has our engineering velocity increased as a company due to AI.”
Engineering velocity, a term often used to describe the speed at which developers can design, build, and ship new software, has seen a measurable improvement at Google. Pichai stated that AI tools have led to an estimated 10% increase in engineering velocity across the organization.
“It’s tough to measure, and we rigorously try to measure it,” he noted. “Our estimates are that number is now at 10%.”
AI as a Tool for Empowerment, Not Replacement
Rather than signaling a reduction in engineering jobs, Pichai views the integration of AI as an opportunity to expand Google’s engineering ambitions. In fact, the company plans to hire more software engineers in the coming year.
“We plan to hire more engineers next year,” he said. “Because the opportunity space of what we can do is expanding too.”
For Pichai, the arrival of AI coding agents like Jules is not about eliminating human roles but about enhancing what engineers can accomplish. He described a vision where AI takes over repetitive, time-consuming tasks, enabling developers to focus on the creative and intellectually rewarding aspects of their work.
“In engineering and coding, there are aspects which are so much fun—you’re designing, you’re architecting, you’re solving a problem,” he said. “There’s a lot of grunt work, which all goes hand in hand. But it hopefully takes a lot of that away, makes it even more fun to code, frees you up more time to create, problem-solve, brainstorm with your fellow colleagues, and so on.”
Expanding the Creative Potential of Engineering
Pichai also highlighted another important benefit of AI-powered tools: they can democratize access to software development by putting more creative power into more people’s hands. As tools like Jules and Gemini mature, they could enable individuals with limited formal training to participate meaningfully in software creation.
“It’ll put the creative power in more people’s hands,” Pichai remarked. “Which means people create more. That means there’ll be more engineers doing more things.”
This democratization could fuel a surge of innovation across industries, as more people gain the ability to build and deploy software. Rather than shrinking the pool of software engineers, Pichai believes AI could expand it.
Why AI Isn’t Ready to Replace Human Engineers
Despite the impressive capabilities of modern AI coding tools, significant limitations remain. While AI can generate boilerplate code, suggest optimizations, and even write functional modules, it lacks the ability to truly understand context, design complex architectures, and collaborate effectively with human teams.
Software engineering is not solely about writing code. It involves:
- Problem definition: Understanding real-world problems and translating them into technical solutions.
- System design: Architecting scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems.
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration: Working with designers, product managers, and other stakeholders.
- Code review and quality assurance: Ensuring code adheres to organizational standards and best practices.
- Ethical and legal considerations: Making decisions with long-term impacts on users and society.
AI, for all its strengths, struggles with these broader dimensions of software engineering. Tools like Jules can assist developers, but they are far from capable of independently managing the end-to-end software development lifecycle.
Pichai’s comments reflect this reality. By emphasizing the continued need to hire engineers and celebrating the creative aspects of engineering, he underscored that human judgment, intuition, and collaboration remain critical in building great software.
The Road Ahead: Complementarity, Not Competition
The future of software development is likely to be shaped by a partnership between AI tools and human engineers. As Pichai described, AI can enhance productivity and creativity, allowing engineers to focus on higher-level challenges. But fully autonomous AI-driven engineering remains a distant goal.
At Google, the strategy is clear: leverage AI to boost engineering velocity, expand the scope of what teams can accomplish, and attract a more diverse range of talent into software development. Far from replacing engineers, AI is poised to empower them to achieve more.
As AI tools continue to evolve, the companies that thrive will likely be those that strike the right balance—integrating AI where it excels, while recognizing and preserving the unique strengths of human creativity, insight, and collaboration.
Pichai’s perspective offers a hopeful vision amid widespread concerns about AI-driven job loss. The rise of coding agents may change how software is built, but for now, the art of engineering remains firmly in human hands.
