Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that nearly one-third of the company’s code is now written by AI, a figure he expects to rise to 40%. Speaking at Meta’s LlamaCon event, Nadella shared his insights with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who predicted that half of Meta’s development work could be done by AI within a year.
The increasing reliance on AI-generated code brings both productivity benefits and potential risks. While AI can significantly accelerate development, it also raises concerns about vulnerabilities and job losses. Neither Nadella nor Zuckerberg directly addressed the potential job losses during their discussion, but they touched upon the evolving roles of engineers.
Zuckerberg suggested that engineers might become more like ‘tech leads,’ working alongside AI agents. “I tend to think that every engineer will effectively end up being more of a tech lead in the future, having their own little army of AI agents that they work with,” he explained.
This trend is not unique to Microsoft and Meta. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai recently revealed that over a quarter of Google’s code is now AI-generated. The growing use of AI in software development is transforming the industry, with significant implications for how code is written and maintained.
While the benefits of AI-generated code are clear, there are also potential downsides. Proton, a privacy-focused Swiss office software company, commented on the discussion, saying, “This is not the flex you think it is, Microsoft.” Their remark suggests concerns about potential vulnerabilities introduced by AI-written code or its impact on the workforce.
As the tech industry continues to embrace AI in software development, the balance between productivity gains and potential risks will be crucial to watch. The full discussion between Nadella and Zuckerberg is available on Meta’s YouTube channel, offering deeper insights into their perspectives on AI’s role in shaping the future of coding.
