Sridhar Vembu's advice about AI-led career switch sparks a storm
What's the story
Leading tech figures have challenged Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu's advice to software engineers to consider alternative careers amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). The debate was sparked by a post from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who warned that AI could replace human jobs. Vembu agreed with Amodei and advised coders to start planning for alternate livelihoods. His comments have since sparked widespread discussion in the tech community.
Response
Capgemini director calls out Vembu
Capgemini Director Raghu Kishore Vempati disagreed with Vembu, calling his comment premature. He further clarified that the work being done by AI is not engineering but "statistical reconstruction." This was in response to Vembu's example of Anthropic's AI building a C compiler, illustrating the rapid evolution and potential threat of AI to current and future coders.
Defense
Vembu cites AI compiler example
In defense of his position, Vembu cited the development of an entire C compiler by Anthropic's Claude AI as an example. He said this was no easy engineering feat and reiterated his belief that those who rely on coding for their livelihood should consider alternative careers. "I don't say this in panic, but with calm acceptance and embrace," he added in his post.
Clarification
'Stretching it too far'
Vempati stressed that engineers are not just paid to type syntax but to manage complexity, enforce security, and architect systems that survive reality. He said suggesting alternative livelihoods because an AI can compile C code is "stretching it too far."