Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Aparna Chennapragada is pushing back against the notion that coding is becoming obsolete. In a recent podcast appearance, Chennapragada argued that computer science remains crucial despite advancements in AI.
“A lot of folks think about, ‘Oh, don’t bother studying computer science or the coding is dead,’ and I just fundamentally disagree,” Chennapragada said on “Lenny’s Podcast.” She believes that while programming has evolved through higher layers of abstraction, the core principles remain relevant.
Chennapragada pointed out that the industry has moved away from programming in assembly or C, adopting higher levels of abstraction. She sees AI as another step in this evolution, making programming more accessible but not eliminating the need for skilled engineers.
“We don’t program in assembly anymore… So to me, they will be ways that you will tell the computer what to do, right? It’ll just be at a much higher level of abstraction, which is great. It democratizes,” Chennapragada explained.
While some fear that AI could make software engineers obsolete, Chennapragada suggests that the role will evolve rather than disappear. “There’ll be an order of magnitude more software operators,” she said, predicting a shift from ‘SWEs’ (Software Engineers) to ‘SOs’ (Software Operators) without diminishing the importance of understanding computer science.
For project managers, Chennapragada foresees a future where ‘taste-making’ and editing skills become increasingly important. With AI making it easier to generate ideas and prototypes, the challenge will be distinguishing valuable projects from the noise.
“In a world where the supply of ideas, supply of prototypes becomes even more like an order of magnitude higher, you’d have to think about, ‘What is the editing function here?'” Chennapragada noted. Project managers will need to develop strong instincts for what rises above the noise, essentially earning the right to judge by demonstrating their expertise.
Chennapragada has observed that in some startups and companies she’s advised, there’s less automatic gatekeeping. Instead, project managers must now prove their value in the decision-making process, particularly in editing and refining the plethora of ideas generated through AI-facilitated tools.
