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4 months ago
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Despite the wave of layoffs and hiring freezes across the tech industry, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke isn’t worried about the future of software development. In fact, he’s more optimistic than ever.
“It’s the most exciting time to be a developer,” he said during a recent episode of The Silicon Valley Girl Podcast, recorded live at VivaTech in Paris.
“The dream of software development was always that I can take the idea in my head on a Sunday morning — and by the evening, have the app running on my phone. Now, that dream is closer to reality.”
Dohmke, who led GitHub through its $7.5 billion acquisition by Microsoft and helped launch GitHub Copilot — now the most widely adopted AI coding tool in history — believes the best companies won’t use AI to shrink teams. Instead, they’ll hire more developers to harness AI’s multiplying effect.
“If you 10x a single developer, then 10 developers can do 100x,” he explained.
“The companies that are the smartest are going to hire more developers.”
While some believe no-code or “vibe coding” tools (where users prompt agents to write software) might eliminate the need for technical expertise, Dohmke disagrees. He sees these tools as accelerators, not replacements.
“The idea that AI without any coding skills lets you build a billion-dollar business is mistaken — because if that were true, everyone would be doing it.”
AI tools like Copilot have significantly lowered the barrier to entry for learning programming. For beginners, that’s revolutionary.
“The most frustrating part of learning to code is getting stuck and having no one around who can help,” Dohmke said.
“That’s what we mean when we say AI is democratizing access — everyone who wants to learn can learn now.”
But there’s still a ceiling. While you might build a landing page or simple app with AI prompting alone, Dohmke warns that more complex functionality, performance optimization, and scalability still require real engineering skills.
“At some point, you’ll run into limitations. The prompt won’t be enough. You’ll need to understand the code, debug it, and make it scale.”
Contrary to fears that AI might shrink engineering teams, Dohmke sees the opposite happening. He believes AI will increase the total amount of software being written — and that means more hands on deck.
“I said this morning that 90% of code will be written by agents. But if the total amount of code grows 10x, the developer still writes the same amount they did before — there’s just more work overall.”
He added that AI hasn’t cleared backlogs — in fact, it’s added to them.
“I haven’t seen a single company say, ‘We’ve finished everything on our backlog thanks to AI.’ If anything, AI is creating more possibilities and more work.”
On the topic of “vibe coding” — where users interact with an AI agent instead of manually writing code — Dohmke acknowledges its growing popularity but says it’s only as effective as your ability to prompt.
“You can go far if you have the patience to keep prompting. But at some point, if you don’t know what the code is doing, you hit a wall.”
While emerging tools like Manus and Vercel’s zero-config deployments make it easier than ever to spin up apps with no technical background, there’s still a gap between tinkering and building robust, scalable software.
Dohmke is especially excited about what this means for the next generation. Kids can now learn to build games, apps, and tools using AI agents — without needing to rely on books, classes, or mentors.
“The next generation of developers will grow up with AI the way Gen Z grew up with smartphones.”
That shift, he believes, will redefine what it means to be a developer — introducing a spectrum from “consumer developers” building personal tools, all the way to professionals building the infrastructure behind modern AI systems.
When asked about those fearful of AI taking over jobs, Dohmke’s advice is simple: lean in.
“The best way to overcome fear is to adopt the technology,” he said.
“If you’re worried AI will replace your job, become the expert at using it. The person who orchestrates the AI tools — the conductor — will always be needed.”
GitHub Copilot — “Everyone at GitHub uses it — engineers, PMs, HR, legal, everyone.”
ChatGPT — For day-to-day questions and brainstorming.
Granola — For transcribing and summarizing calls and interviews.
AI won’t make developers obsolete — it will make them indispensable. As Dohmke puts it:
“You can now build a company from your garage anywhere in the world — with a laptop, internet, and a bit of vibe coding. And if you want to be a developer, you can. Everyone can become one now.”
