Originally shared on Instagram and LinkedIn, May 2026. Archived here.

Developers have been dying since 2003.

Some notable “deaths” include:

  • Dreamweaver drag-and-drop builders
  • Outsourcing to cheaper markets
  • WordPress “anyone can build a site”
  • Low-code platforms
  • No-code tools
  • Bubble and Webflow
  • GitHub Copilot writing your code
  • ChatGPT replacing junior devs
  • Devin AI “the first AI software engineer”
  • Cursor doing the heavy lifting
  • Vibe coding making devs obsolete

Here’s the reality:

  • Software is eating more of the world, not less
  • Every AI tool needs someone to ship it to production
  • Low-code breaks at scale. Someone has to fix it.
  • AI writes code. Developers decide what to build.
  • The demand for engineers keeps growing
  • Bugs don’t debug themselves

I build AI agents for a living. I use Claude Code daily. I’ve automated workflows that used to take 15 hours a week. And I’m busier than ever.

Every wave of “developers are dead” just raised the floor. The devs who adapted got more leverage, not less.

Developers are only “dead” for those who stopped learning.

Which “death” did you survive?