90%+ of code will be written by LLMs, yet human instruction volume keeps growing
timigod · x · 2026-09-21
Developer Tim Ajiboye argues it's "obviously true" that 90+% of software will be written by LLMs in short order — but that doesn't mean humans will write less code. Key points:
- "AI-written" vs "human-written" code is inherently ambiguous: what counts — lines of high-level code, copy-paste, compiler and minifier output?
- Even if human-guided code drops to 0.1%, the sheer scale of AI-built software means that tiny fraction translates into more configuration and instructions than humans have ever handled.
- Historical precedent: every wave of automation, from compilers to cloud infrastructure, abstracted complexity away yet always expanded what we attempt, build, and manage.
Conclusion: the surface area of human-guided software — total human instructions and parameters — keeps growing, shifting engineering toward steering AI rather than typing code.
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