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Software Won’t Disappear—But the Way We Build It Will

Let’s talk about the future of software. Not the doom-and-gloom “AI is coming for our jobs” narrative, but something more interesting: what if software itself changes so much that the way we interact with it—and build it—becomes almost unrecognizable?

Here’s the idea: AI isn’t going to replace software engineers. Instead, it’s going to turn software development into something as common as using a spreadsheet. And that changes everything.

The End of “One-Size-Fits-All” Software

Right now, if you need a CRM, you shop around for a SaaS tool that kinda-sorta fits your needs. You pay a monthly fee, deal with features you don’t need, and work around the ones you’re missing. Why? Because building your own from scratch is expensive, slow, and requires specialized skills.

But what if that changes? What if, in a few years, you could describe what you need to an AI—in plain English—and get a custom-built system in minutes? No bloated subscriptions, no compromise. Just exactly what your business requires.

The Democratization of Development

This isn’t about AI replacing developers. It’s about AI turning everyone into a developer. Think about how Excel let non-accountants do complex financial modeling. Or how WordPress let non-coders build websites. AI could do the same for software—making it a skill as accessible as writing a document.

Suddenly, the cost of building software plummets. The ROI shifts. Why pay for a generic SaaS when you can own a tailored solution?

So… What Happens to Software Engineers?

They don’t disappear. They evolve.

The demand for complex, cutting-edge systems won’t vanish. But the “middle layer” of generic software? It might. Engineers will focus on high-value problems—the stuff AI can’t (yet) handle alone—while the rest of us build our own tools.

The Big Question: Build or Buy?

In this future, the calculus changes. Right now, buying SaaS is the default because building is hard. Soon, building might be so easy that owning your software—with no subscriptions, no vendor lock-in—becomes the smarter choice.

Will everyone ditch SaaS overnight? No. But for the first time, the playing field levels. And that’s exciting.

What do you think? Would you rather build or buy in a world where both are equally viable?