Traditional coding is at a crossroads. The manual process of writing syntax like Python is rapidly being replaced by agentic AI. But instead of making engineering jobs redundant, the shift to AI-assisted coding is placing software developers into new roles as higher-level programmers.That’s the argument from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. can see this paradigm shift unfolding inside Nvidia itself. In an interview released by the company, Huang shared that his development teams are gladly leaving traditional coding behind.NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang:"Every one of my engineers would rather build agents than write code. Coding is just typing now."This is the shift that's going to define the rest of 2026.26 minutes of pure insight from one of the richest men on earth.Watch it, then read the full… https://t.co/rcVgt7b2E0 pic.twitter.com/Eibt7JS9nk— Anatoli Kopadze (@AnatoliKopadze) July 9, 2026“These agentic systems are new skills, and now we have a lot of software engineers building agents,” Huang says. “If you ask me, every one of my software engineers prefers to be building agents than to be writing Python code.”“If you ask me, every one of my software engineers prefers to be building agents than to be writing Python code.”Agents replace repetitive codeHuang contends that AI isn’t eliminating engineering work so much as changing where engineers spend their time. Rather than focusing on repetitive coding tasks, Nvidia’s software teams are building agentic systems, creating evaluation frameworks, and designing the guardrails needed to keep AI operating safely. “You’re taking all the mundane work, and you’re trying to get this agent to do it,” Huang says. “That requires imagination, that requires creativity, a lot of technology.”Since co-founding Nvidia in 1993, Huang has unwaveringly argued that AI should augment every knowledge worker. The company is now putting that philosophy into practice by rolling out autonomous agents across every business unit to streamline operations and improve productivity.“You’re taking all the mundane work, and you’re trying to get this agent to do it… That requires imagination, that requires creativity, a lot of technology.”Infrastructure spending accelerates fastHuang isn’t the only CEO with this perspective. Tech leaders across the ecosystem are bracing for an infrastructure pivot to support these interconnected AI workflows. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has centered much of Microsoft’s AI strategy on what he calls agentic computing, while AWS CEO Matt Garman has predicted that AI-assisted development will reshape virtually every application businesses rely on today. And Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy says the growing use of interconnected AI agents is fueling demand for custom silicon, optical interconnects and faster networking infrastructure to handle the surge in traffic moving between AI systems.Why Anthropic keeps hiringHuang’s view aligns with the shift described by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. During a recent appearance on Nikhil Kamath’s People by WTF podcast, Amodei predicted that raw programming is a shrinking skillset.“I think coding is going away first, or coding is being done by the AI models first,” he says. “And then the broader task of software engineering will take longer… But I think that is going to happen as well.”Despite Amodei’s prediction, the company remains heavily invested in software engineering talent. The company is currently hiring for more than 400 roles, with some engineering positions offering salaries of up to $405,000.Taken through Huang’s perspective, there is no contradiction. If AI continues to handle code generation, engineers become far more productive by narrowing in on higher-level direction while AI handles much of the execution.Demand grows as costs fallHistorically, when a resource becomes cheaper and more efficient, market demand for it explodes. Lower development costs will likely trigger a massive spike in demand for elite engineers who can design systems, orchestrate AI agents, and bring the vital product intuition that machines still lack.Employment trends indicate continued demand. The global developer population has grown from roughly 5 million in 2010 to an estimated 28.7 million today and is projected to reach 45 million by 2030. In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment for software developers to grow 17% through 2033.Anthropic’s hiring reflects that structural shift. As Amodei put it, “Anthropic engineers don’t really write code the same way anymore… They let Claude write it. They edit. They review. They architect.”“Anthropic engineers don’t really write code the same way anymore… They let Claude write it. They edit. They review. They architect.”The post Jensen Huang says traditional coding is dead. Here’s what comes next. appeared first on The New Stack.