Pragmatic Engineer launches essay contest on how AI is changing software engineering, $10K grand prize
neal_lathia · x · 2026-09-04
Gergely Orosz announced an essay challenge from The Pragmatic Engineer: write about how software engineering is changing inside your company, team, or project — without using AI. Deadline is October 4, entries up to 10,000 words.
- Prizes: one $10,000 grand prize, plus multiple $2,500 awards for the best entries
- Winning essays will be published in The Pragmatic Engineer
- The contest builds on the newsletter's recent deepdives: how building software is changing at Anthropic, why Ramp built its in-house coding agent, how Uber uses AI for development, and how Codex is built
- Orosz notes nearly every company interviewed says long-established processes have suddenly become outdated
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