Developers struggle with identity loss as AI takes over coding tasks
Ordinary-Scratch-120 · reddit · 2026-08-18
A scientific software developer shares concerns about losing a sense of ownership and identity as AI tools like Claude handle the actual coding. Over six months, their role shifted to reviewing and merging AI-generated code without writing any lines themselves. This led to a loss of confidence in the code details and a crisis of professional identity, as they no longer feel like a "programmer." The post highlights the career anxiety of offering no tangible coding skills if forced to job hunt, sparking a discussion on how to adapt to this new workflow.
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