A senior engineer at artificial intelligence company Anthropic has said that a new generation of AI agents capable of operating computers independently could dramatically reshape nearly every internet based job in the United States, with changes expected sooner than many anticipate.
Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, shared the warning during a recent appearance on “Lenny’s Podcast,” hosted by Lenny Rachitsky. According to Cherny, advances in AI are moving beyond chatbots that simply generate text and are evolving into systems that can actively perform tasks across computers and software platforms.
“It’s going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer,” Cherny said. “In the meantime, it’s going to be very disruptive. It’s going to be painful for a lot of people.”
‘Software engineer’ role may change by 2026
Cherny also spoke about the future of software development during another interview on Y Combinator’s “Lightcone” podcast, where he suggested that traditional job titles could soon evolve.
He said the title of software engineer may begin to “go away” by 2026 as AI systems increasingly handle coding tasks that previously required human developers.
However, he cautioned that the broader societal impact remains unclear.
“As a society, this is a conversation we have to figure out together,” he told Rachitsky.
Highlighting the accessibility AI could bring, Cherny added, “Anyone can just build software anytime,” suggesting that programming may become a more universal skill rather than a specialised profession.
Advice for workers facing AI disruption
Despite acknowledging potential disruption, Cherny encouraged workers not to fear the technology but instead learn how to work alongside it.
“Don’t be scared of them,” he said, advising professionals to experiment with AI tools and understand how they function as workplaces increasingly integrate automation.
(Also read: Anthropic’s new AI tool Cowork was written fully by Claude Code, says creator)
Who is Boris Cherny?
Boris Cherny is best known as the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, a tool designed to assist with software development using advanced AI capabilities.
Anthropic recently unveiled a product called Cowork, which drew attention for how it was created. Cherny revealed that the tool was built almost entirely by AI itself using Claude Code. When asked on X how much of the product had been authored by the AI system, he replied bluntly, “All of it.”
