It started with curiosity.
I first tried using AI to help write code in early 2022 with a tool called Tabnine. It didn’t impress me, it felt slow, the suggestions were often wrong, and it interrupted my focus more than it helped. But then I gave GitHub Copilot a shot when Microsoft released it in mid-2022. That changed everything. It was faster, gave better suggestions, and actually helped me move quicker through my code. That’s when I realized: this kind of AI tool wasn’t just a cool experiment. It was going to be a real part of a software engineer’s job.
I didn’t know when it would go mainstream, but I knew we had crossed some invisible line. I remember chatting with some fellow engineers about it at the time. I joked, half seriously, that maybe one day, outsourcing software services might become obsolete. If your job was just translating human requirements into machine code, you were probably at risk. Because soon, in a Microsoft data center, there could be an army of AI machines writing code 24/7, unaffected by mood swings, sleep, or distractions.
That shift, from curiosity to realization, changed how I looked at engineering, tools, and the future of our craft.
Over the past two years, I’ve watched the conversation evolve. I’ve seen engineers go from asking, “Will AI replace us?” to “How do I stay ahead?” And I’ve seen organizations make the same mistake over and over again: rushing to plug in tools without changing how people work, learn, or collaborate.
That’s why I wrote this book.
This isn’t a collection of hype predictions. It’s a grounded, practical guide for people who are serious about doing great work in the age of AI.
If you’re a software engineer wondering what skills to focus on next…
A tech lead trying to help your team adopt AI meaningfully…
A founder or senior leader rethinking your team’s structure or product workflows…
This book is for you.
We’ll cover what’s changing, what’s not, and what you can do to make the most of this new era, without losing your edge, your craft, or your soul as a builder.
You still own the craft. Let’s get started!
How to read this book
This book isn’t a technical manual, and it’s not a hype piece. It’s a practical, honest guide for engineers, tech leads, founders, and leaders who are navigating the fast-changing world of AI in software development.
You can read it straight through, or jump to the chapters that speak to your current challenges. Each chapter stands on its own, but together they form a larger narrative about how AI is shifting the way we build software and how we can respond without losing our craft.
If you’re a software engineer
Start with Chapter 2: Coding Isn’t the Job and Chapter 3: AI as Your Junior Engineer. These chapters explore how your role is changing, and how to stay sharp in the AI era without just chasing tools.
If you’re leading a team
Chapter 5: The New Engineering Workflow and Chapter 7: Rethinking Team Structure in the AI Era will help you understand how to adapt your process and structure to fully leverage AI, without losing what makes your team effective.
If you’re a founder, senior engineering leader or CTO
Read the Preface and Introduction for the big picture, then dive into Chapter 6: How much faster can we really go? and Chapter 9: What AI needs from you (and your organization) to understand how AI can truly impact speed and culture.
What you won’t find here
You won’t find silver bullets or one-size-fits-all frameworks. This book is full of stories, real-world insights, and practical advice, all written from the perspective of someone who’s been in the trenches.
Whether you're just curious or deep in AI adoption, read this book the same way we now build software: with context, with curiosity, and with your judgment in the loop.