The Last Real Developers

Lately, I’ve been catching myself in a strange loop.

I open my editor. I write a few lines. I stop. Then the AI suggests something, and I think “Sure, why not.” It works. It’s fast. It feels good to move quickly. But after a while, I realize I’m barely thinking anymore. I’m just approving.

And I hate that feeling.

I didn’t get into this to click “accept suggestion.” I got into this because I loved solving things, since I started to write my first line of code, figuring out better ways, naming things carefully, choosing when to break a rule. That’s what development was for me. Still is.

But now I see something changing. Around me. And I m dragging my foot against to not to became one.

More and more developers are renting out their minds to agents. Full agents, not just autocomplete or Copilot type helpers. These agents structure logic, pick the flow, fetch the package, implement the feature. The developer just watches and reviews. And most of the time, they don’t even feel what they’re losing , because it’s fast, and it looks like progress.

But what’s actually dying is the ability to think independently. To make clean decisions without relying on the model. That quiet developer instinct, “wait, this is off…” that’s becoming rare.

Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

And I don’t think we talk about that enough.

The future will need developers who still think. Who know why something should be built a certain way, not just how to prompt an AI to do it. I truly believe those who continue to code intentionally, who choose their stack, decide when to write or rewrite, and still enjoy the raw work – will be the ones who stand out the most in a few years.

This isn’t an anti AI post sure. I use it. I build tools with it(Codigma.io). But there’s a line. A moment where you stop being the one driving.

And I just don’t want to cross that without noticing.

So if you’re someone still figuring things out on your own, still building with care, still deciding when and how, you’re not slow. You’re training something no agent can ever replicate. You’re becoming one of the last real developers.

And honestly? That’s exactly who the future is going to need.