Investing $250,000 per year in AI or risk being phased out, Nvidia CEO warns as 98% of developers use AI-assisted coding

Silicon Valley faces unemployment fears as AI can write code. Should people still learn programming when AI can perform many tasks? The Verge reports that AI-powered coding tools—once seen as quirky interns—are rapidly evolving, pushing the software industry into a major overhaul. From 'vibe coding' to the ghost of 'SaaSpocalypse', a new era is forming where lines of code are no longer the exclusive domain of highly skilled engineers. Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has warned that not using AI could leave software engineers behind. When AI began writing code: Programming was the killer app of artificial intelligence, even before the name ChatGPT entered public consciousness. In spring 2021, Microsoft introduced the first step with GitHub Copilot, a result of its partnership with OpenAI. It was initially a limited preview capable of auto-completing code, but it drew over 1 million developers to sign up. The reason AI has become so entwined with programming is the nature of code: structured, logical, and readily verifiable on online repositories. If you run it and it works, the AI is right; if errors arise, the AI is wrong. The piece notes that Claude Code (Anthropic) can convert natural-language commands into a working prototype in minutes, and Boris Cherny, Claude Code's creator, claimed AI is writing up to 100% of code for his projects. OpenAI continues updating Codex while Google deeply integrates programming features into Gemini and AI Studio. The race isn’t a side project anymore. OpenAI and Google leaders are focusing on coding amid expectations of IPOs this year; they need real revenue figures to justify billions spent on compute. The heat is reflected in corporate budgets: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said he would worry for any high-salary engineer who does not invest $250,000 per year in AI tokens. A 2025 study shows up to 98% of developers use AI tools several times per week. The era of 'Vibe Coding' and the SaaS apocalypse: A new concept of 'Vibe Coding' describes how people with no coding background can create software by looking, commanding, running, and copying. While such software may still be buggy or insecure, for many office needs a working prototype suffices. The AI boom also threatens traditional jobs. Large-scale layoffs in Silicon Valley have been framed as AI-driven restructuring. Jack Dorsey of Block admitted that a smaller team using in-house tools can accomplish more and better. The fear of 'SaaSpocalypse'—the end of SaaS—arises as companies might rely on Claude Code to build bespoke systems at lower costs, undermining third-party platforms. The software industry, which once rode high valuations, now feels its foundation wobble. Despite the immense potential, AI-powered programming still faces privacy and control hurdles; products like Claude Cowork and Perplexity Computer aim to let AI access personal files to perform complex tasks. The question is no longer whether AI can code, but how humans will interact with it. Source: The Verge, CNET