AI didn't take our work. It sped it up

When AI tools got good at writing code, a lot of people in software, us included, quietly wondered the same thing: if the machine can do the job, what is left for the people? We expected the work to shrink.

We were wrong. The work did not shrink. It sped up.

What we expected

The picture in our heads was simple. AI writes the code, the app gets built, and the team mostly watches. Fewer hands, less to do, maybe not much of a job left.

What actually happened

AI does take real work off our plate. It drafts code, writes first versions of pages, reads documents and fills in forms. But the same tools are in everyone else's hands too, and that changed the speed of everything around us.

Everyone is shipping faster, which means everyone is also finding and fixing security problems faster. Libraries we depend on release new versions more often. Platforms tighten their rules more often. And each of those changes lands on our desk as something that has to be done, tested and shipped.

Two examples from our own week

App stores. Almost every time we upload an app to the Play Store or the App Store there is a new requirement to meet first: a newer SDK to target, a new privacy declaration, a new policy form. Miss it and the upload is refused, or the app stops being offered to new users.

Operating system updates. On our own phones and laptops it now feels like an update arrives once or twice a week. A few years ago the big update came once a year and the rest of the year was quiet. Each update can change how an app behaves, so each one is something to check.

Why this pushes everyone to update

The pressure runs all the way down the chain. A platform patches a security hole and requires apps to update. App makers then require their users to update, or the app simply stops working. Old versions are switched off sooner than they used to be, because keeping them running is now the risky choice.

So, don't fear that there is no work

If you are worried that AI will leave nothing for people to do, our experience says the opposite. There is more to do, and it arrives faster. AI is how we keep up, not a reason to stop.

The real job now is pace: staying current, shipping small changes often, and checking every one of them properly. That is a job for people, with AI working alongside them.