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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Varsha Bansal

Chasing new skills, going back to basics and pushing for collective action: how software engineers are adapting to AI

A man posing for a photo in his home.
George Dover poses for a portrait at his home in Beaverton, Oregon. Dover was laid off in 2024. Photograph: Leah Nash/The Guardian

Every weekday, Matt, a software engineer, looks forward to his four-hour train commute to Pawling, New York. It’s time he uses to work on his own project: a browser-based video game for which he writes every line of code himself.

“I am actively trying to keep my axe sharp,” said Matt, who did not want to use his actual name, to protect his employment. In the last six months, Matt’s job has increasingly shifted away from coding, problem solving and software architecture towards reviewing code generated by artificial intelligence. Convinced that the shift will weaken his skills, he’s doing what he can to keep them intact. “I am trying not to leverage AI where I can.”

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