Claude Code creator Boris Cherny on the end of the software engineer
Summary
Casey Newton interviews Boris Cherny, creator of Anthropic’s Claude Code, about AI’s impact on software engineering jobs. Cherny predicts the title “software engineer” will fade as roles evolve into “builders,” noting he hasn’t written code in six months. The episode also features Ella Marchianos discussing workplace AI adoption paradoxes, including “token maxing” at Amazon and the gap between employee enthusiasm and managerial incentives.
Topics discussed
Intro: Platformer series launch and guest preview
Microsoft study: AI adoption, job fears, and token leaderboards
Ad sponsor: Rovo for Atlassian workflows
Boris Cherny joins: Origin story of Claude Code
Rapid adoption: From internal hack to default tool
Productivity paradox: Will AI reduce headcount?
Historical analogies: Tractors, PCs, and business process change
Skill atrophy: Will engineers lose coding ability?
Craft vs. Utility: Quality of AI-generated code
The golden age of solo founders and startups
Claude Co-work: Expanding beyond coding to general tasks
AI Safety and societal responsibility
The AI divide: Access and education for non-engineers
Future of business models and material discovery
Conclusion: Community feedback and final thoughts
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