How to Think About Software Engineering (CTO's Perspective)

- 2 minutes read - 367 words.

We are at a unique point in history where there is finally an alternative to human coding. If AI can write the code effectively, what is left for the software engineer?

In this episode, Joris Conijn (AWS CTO at Xebia) argues that the era of “just coding” is over. We discuss why senior developers are safe (for now), why juniors are at risk of never learning the fundamentals, and how “Shadow AI” is forcing companies to change their security strategies.

Most importantly, we break down the difference between a “Programmer” and a “Software Engineer” with the introduction of agentic tools. If you want to future-proof your career and move from writing lines of code to designing systems, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why banning AI at work actually increases your security risk
  • How to use AI to automate the boring parts of the SDLC (requirements & user stories)
  • The critical difference between “Coding” and “System Architecture”
  • Why you should check your AI Agents into your Git repository
  • The 20-year problem: what happens when engineers never learn the fundamentals?

TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:11 - What Keeps a CTO Excited About Tech?
00:02:58 - Stop Being the “Department of No” in Security
00:05:28 - The Real Risk of Banning AI at Work
00:06:32 - When Developers Hold the Organization Hostage
00:08:14 - The Hidden Dangers of Instant AI Code Fixes
00:09:50 - Will Future Devs Understand Object Oriented Programming?
00:11:36 - Using AI to Accelerate Learning vs Copy-Pasting
00:13:17 - Why Testing Matters More When AI Writes Code
00:16:42 - Automating the Boring Parts of the SDLC
00:19:06 - How to Turn Meeting Transcripts into User Stories
00:21:36 - The Critical Skill of Making Implicit Knowledge Explicit
00:23:10 - Why You Should Stop Obsessing Over Story Points
00:27:46 - The “A-Team” Approach to High-Trust Development
00:29:54 - Running Parallel Workflows with AI Agents
00:33:34 - Pro Tip: Check Your AI Agents into Git
00:35:52 - Balancing Autonomy and Governance in Large Teams
00:39:19 - There Is Finally an Alternative to Human Coders
00:41:07 - Programmer vs Software Engineer: What is the Difference?
00:44:45 - How to Teach Software Engineering in the AI Era