It is not a binary outcome
The creator of Claude Code just said the quiet part out loud. Boris Cherny told Platformer News that major job loss due to AI automation really is coming for software engineers. Not “roles will evolve” or “humans will always be needed for the creative parts.” But real, significant, measurable job loss.
Them that’s got shall get, Them that’s not shall lose, So the Bible said, and it still is news. Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child that’s got his own!
Arthur Herzog Jr., ‘God Bless the Child’ lyrics, co-written with Billie Holiday
That’s a shockingly honest thing for someone building the tool to admit. He also said job creation is coming. Those two things can be true at the same time. But that doesn’t make it any less disruptive for anyone trying to plan a career.
I would argue that three things are simultaneously true.
- Jobs will be eliminated.
- Different jobs will be created.
- Overall, society will experience a net loss in total jobs.
The error most people make is treating this as binary outcome. Either AI takes all the jobs, or it doesn’t. But that’s not how technological transitions work. New categories emerge, old ones shrink or disappear, and the timing never lines up cleanly. The real question isn’t whether your job is safe. It’s whether you’re actively positioning yourself on the creation side of this shift, or passively waiting to find out which side you land on.
The reality is that not everyone will make it. Because not everyone will want to do the type of work the new role requires. And this will be extremely disruptive over the next 3-5 years.
