Are engineers' jobs at risk? This manager says AI won't need humans soon
A casual lift conversation between an engineer and his skip manager turned into an unsettling discussion about artificial intelligence. The Reddit post has reignited conversations around how leaders view AI and the future of software jobs.
Sometimes, it is not a company announcement or a town hall that changes how employees think about their future. Sometimes, it is just a two-minute conversation in a lift.
That is exactly what happened to one software engineer, who shared his experience in a post on Reddit. According to the post, what began as casual small talk with his skip manager quickly turned into a discussion that left him questioning how some senior leaders see the future of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
JUST A LIFT CHAT UNTIL AI CAME UP
The employee wrote that his skip manager casually remarked that "no one has thought that AI is going to become so capable that it's going to write code for us."
The engineer agreed that AI had become an important tool but believed there were limits.
He replied that AI "is going to be this way now. It can't go beyond this. It has to be some engineer who is going to review and there will always be an engineer required for the job."
However, his manager disagreed completely.
SOON AI WON'T NEED HUMANS: THE REPLY
The engineer claimed his manager "smirked and said no. Soon there will be whole features that will be developed just by AI without needing any human in the loop."
That response, the employee said, stayed with him long after the lift ride ended.
He wrote, "The level of ignorance and arrogance and lack of empathy is what made me feel angry." The employee also mentioned that his manager had studied engineering before completing an MBA from an Indian Institute of Management.
MORE THAN JUST A TECHNOLOGY DEBATE
For the engineer, the conversation was not only about AI's capabilities. It was also about how leadership may be thinking about employees' roles in the years ahead.
He ended the post by writing, "This is how they think. And our dependency and importance has reduced in the current time."
While the post reflects one person's experience and opinion, it has struck a chord with many professionals who are trying to understand how AI will reshape the workplace.
As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, discussions are no longer limited to what the technology can do. They are increasingly about how organisations value human expertise, and where employees fit into an AI-driven future.
Sometimes, it is not a company announcement or a town hall that changes how employees think about their future. Sometimes, it is just a two-minute conversation in a lift.
That is exactly what happened to one software engineer, who shared his experience in a post on Reddit. According to the post, what began as casual small talk with his skip manager quickly turned into a discussion that left him questioning how some senior leaders see the future of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
JUST A LIFT CHAT UNTIL AI CAME UP
The employee wrote that his skip manager casually remarked that "no one has thought that AI is going to become so capable that it's going to write code for us."
The engineer agreed that AI had become an important tool but believed there were limits.
He replied that AI "is going to be this way now. It can't go beyond this. It has to be some engineer who is going to review and there will always be an engineer required for the job."
However, his manager disagreed completely.
SOON AI WON'T NEED HUMANS: THE REPLY
The engineer claimed his manager "smirked and said no. Soon there will be whole features that will be developed just by AI without needing any human in the loop."
That response, the employee said, stayed with him long after the lift ride ended.
He wrote, "The level of ignorance and arrogance and lack of empathy is what made me feel angry." The employee also mentioned that his manager had studied engineering before completing an MBA from an Indian Institute of Management.
MORE THAN JUST A TECHNOLOGY DEBATE
For the engineer, the conversation was not only about AI's capabilities. It was also about how leadership may be thinking about employees' roles in the years ahead.
He ended the post by writing, "This is how they think. And our dependency and importance has reduced in the current time."
While the post reflects one person's experience and opinion, it has struck a chord with many professionals who are trying to understand how AI will reshape the workplace.
As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, discussions are no longer limited to what the technology can do. They are increasingly about how organisations value human expertise, and where employees fit into an AI-driven future.
