Software envelopment: Anthropic CEO predicts AI will write 90% of code within 6 months

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts that AI will be writing 90% of software code within three to six months, with AI handling “essentially all of the code” within a year. This bold timeline suggests a dramatic acceleration in AI’s role in software development, potentially reshaping one of tech’s most foundational professions far sooner than many anticipated.

What they’re saying: Amodei outlined his vision for AI’s rapid takeover of coding tasks during a Council of Foreign Relations event on Monday.

• “I think we will be there in three to six months, where AI is writing 90% of the code. And then, in 12 months, we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code,” Amodei said.
• “But on the other hand, I think that eventually all those little islands will get picked off by AI systems. And then, we will eventually reach the point where the AIs can do everything that humans can. And I think that will happen in every industry,” he added.

The transition phase: Software developers won’t disappear immediately, but their roles will fundamentally shift as AI handles more coding tasks.

• Humans will initially focus on feeding AI models with design features and specific conditions, essentially becoming AI coordinators rather than direct coders.
• Amodei acknowledges that developers will maintain relevance “in the near term” as they guide AI systems through complex requirements and architectural decisions.

Early evidence: The prediction isn’t purely theoretical—real-world data suggests AI coding adoption is already accelerating rapidly.

• Garry Tan, CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator, reported that 25% of companies in their 2025 winter batch are already having AI generate 95% of their code lines.
• “For 25% of the Winter 2025 batch, 95% of lines of code are LLM generated. That’s not a typo,” Tan wrote on X.

Broader workforce implications: Amodei’s coding predictions fit within larger concerns about AI’s impact on global employment across industries.

• The International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, estimated last year that AI will impact about 40% of global jobs.
• “Roughly half the exposed jobs may benefit from AI integration, enhancing productivity. For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring,” Georgieva wrote.
• “In the most extreme cases,” she added, “some of these jobs may disappear.”

About Anthropic: The AI startup, cofounded by former OpenAI researcher Amodei in 2021, has attracted billions in funding from tech giants Google and Amazon, positioning it as a major player in the race to develop advanced AI systems.