AI has lowered the barrier to coding; the remaining edge lies in industry knowledge and business understanding

As AI writes more code, the key advantage in software development may shift from coding skill to the ability to judge whether a system truly meets business needs.

The article cites cases where domain experts, such as logistics specialists, can assess AI-built systems’ practical fit better than engineers.

Anthropic hackathon results, where many winners came from non-developer backgrounds, were used as evidence of this shift.

A counterpoint notes that understanding operations is one thing, but turning requirements into effective AI instructions and tests is a separate skill.