GitHub: Developers aren't disappearing. They're leveling up

The big question for software developers everywhere isn't about enterprises getting returns on their investments from AI. Instead, it's a more visceral concern for their employment and future. It's not necessarily that their jobs are potentially jeopardised (they are, as are many other white collar roles), but more about what becomes of the software developer as efficient methods of software creation mature. If it seems grim, that's one possibility. The other is that the future is bright.

A person perfectly placed to provide a view on this pressing issue is GitHub's regional VP Sharryn Napier. And the first thing she confirmed is that the sheer pace of change has caught almost everyone by surprise. "When I joined GitHub in 2022, there wasn't AI- anything. Not models, not tokens, not frontiers. It was about robust and secure development lifecycles to ship good software securely."

This comment is telling, because it perfectly encapsulates the wave that, for many developers, is engulfing them. The easy answer, and one with a good deal of historical precedent, is to adapt, up- or reskill, and accept that any technological advancement tends to benefit humanity as a whole.

The harder one is acknowledging the cold comfort this often deeply unpleasant situation offers for those who find themselves in niches that are rapidly being commoditised.

Seismic activity drives DevOps, shift left becomes shunt left

Napier said vibe coding is perhaps the best example of how the ground has moved. "At first glance it was super cool, immediately followed by 'who would do that because software has to be secure, robust and compliant in the enterprise'. But that's not necessarily what vibe coding is for - instead, it's ideal for product managers, for brainstorming, for prototyping and PoC. More for creative fields and conceptualising." 

Again, this observation gets to the very crux of what's happening in software development, and arguably many other fields ranging from law, to accounting, architecture, and 'you name it'. That crux is the availability of once-scarce skills on demand to specialists in entirely different fields. And that is where societal and economic advantage is to be found.

Still, no comfort for developers. But Napier comes to the party: "Vibe coding feeds into the developer. They have the ability to take prototypes and move them into enterprise ready applications with the necessary policy, security, scale and compliance measures."

She said developers are becoming orchestrators rather than programmers. "It's a higher role. A startup founder recently said to me none of his developers code anymore; he also said that as a result, they are closer to the business than ever."

Bridging knowledge gaps between fields has always proven difficult. Poorly aligned software doesn't serve well, and essentially drove the emergence of DevOps. "That's one of the dynamics we see. Developers now spend more time understanding the business needs, then orchestrating the technology to actually get the outcomes. It's a higher purpose, being able to abstract yourself from the mundane stuff and be in a more comprehensive thought process."

Asked if she believed AI is indeed an acceleration of DevOps, Napier was unequivocal. "100%. We see that in a lot of our customers."

It's also speeding up the 'shift left' notion, including with security. "Security is coming in much earlier, because AI makes it easier," Napier confirmed. The same can be said for compliance.

While necessary, these (typically perceived to be) unappealing aspects of software development which involve formulaic actions, are less demanding. "So, the lifecycle becomes faster. Software becomes more secure, it achieves business outcomes faster, and that drives return on investment."

Bad software isn't hard to find, either, and Napier said there is a concordant lift in quality. "We had a customer with a backlog they estimated at 10 years to burn down. Using Copilot and other elements within the GitHub platform, they did it in three weeks. Those advantages accumulate. Tasks developers may once have set aside with 'I'll get back to that when I have time', but never did, now get done on the spot."

Developer outcomes matter

What's remarkable about Napier's observations are that yes, advancements in how software is made delivers benefits to those who need software. But it also clearly delivers benefits to developers themselves.

So long as those benefits are recognised - yes, by developers - as such, and embraced, there is a clear path forward. It's better work, essentially, and there will probably be more of it as founders, entrepreneurs and innovators vibe code their ideas into existence, then look for help commercialising it.

"That's really what AI's done. It's giving developers capacity, the ability to reduce errors in code, find vulnerabilities before they get pushed into production, very, very early in the life cycle," she said.

And what becomes of programmers? "Yeah, I think it's a really good question. We believe very strongly that a human is always going to be involved in the process. To what degree will depend on the criticality of what is being done. Has that role changed? Yes it has."

For the better. Napier again refers to the startup founder. "He said his developers don't write code, but he also said they are in a much more comprehensive, creative mindset. They feel involved, like they are making a real difference, coming up with ideas for improvement because they now have time to understand the bigger picture."