Your Job Is Now Robot Manager
And other uncomfortable truths about building with AI.
The most interesting conversation in tech right now is not about a new product. It is about what we are supposed to call ourselves.
AI Is Turning Developers Into 'Robot Managers'
A recent debate reveals the existential crisis at the heart of software development, and what it really means to build things now.
A developer's friend recently told them, 'You're no longer a developer, just a robot manager.' The comment sparked a massive identity crisis on Reddit, striking a nerve with thousands of engineers who are increasingly using AI to write, refactor, and ship code. It’s a throwaway line that accidentally summarises the entire existential debate in tech right now: what is our job if we are not the ones typing?
The conversation revealed a shift in what it means to be a developer. The value is moving away from the mechanical act of writing code and towards higher-order skills like system design, strategic thinking, and the art of crafting the perfect prompt. The best engineers are becoming architects and orchestrators, guiding AI to execute a vision rather than laying every brick by hand. This isn't about losing a job; it is about the job changing completely.
The uncomfortable truth is that we are all becoming robot managers. The most durable skill is no longer technical execution but the ability to define a problem, review the output with a critical eye, and integrate it into a larger system. Embracing AI as an accelerator for your own taste and judgement is the only real path forward.
The New Wave of App Makers
The barrier to creating software has basically evaporated, and a new class of tools is responsible.
NocoBase 2.0: The open-source toolkit for building your own enterprise apps.
This is for people who want the power of no-code without being locked into a platform. It is about control and data ownership, not just convenience.
Taskade Genesis: Build an entire application from a single prompt.
The ambition here is wild, turning natural language into functional software. It commoditises the 'how' so creators can focus entirely on the 'what'.
Layrr: Finally, a way to visually edit your actual codebase.
This bridges the gap between design tools and code editors. It is not no-code, but it makes code feel less abstract and more tangible.
Building Smarter Infrastructure
While everyone is distracted by shiny new apps, the real action is in building the intelligent plumbing that makes it all work.
Arcade.dev: A password manager for your AI agents.
As AIs start doing things on our behalf, securing their access is a massive, unsolved problem. This is a foundational piece for a future of autonomous agents.
Kimi K2 Thinking: An open-source AI agent that thinks for itself.
An open-source model with this level of agentic power is a huge deal. It puts top-tier AI reasoning in the hands of everyone, not just a few tech giants.
Quick hits
Fusion 1.0: Your entire dev team, unified by one AI.
A single AI agent that connects product, design, and code is the holy grail of dev tooling, aiming to eliminate handoffs entirely.
Burner Terminal: Tap-to-pay for stablecoins is here.
This turns crypto payments into a simple tap, quietly bridging the gap between digital currencies and physical high-street stores.
Sourmize: Stop building UTMs manually.
AI is now automating the most tedious part of marketing analytics, proving no task is too small to be handed over to a model.
My takeaway
The real job is no longer writing the code; it is defining the problem with enough clarity that a machine can solve it.
We are obsessed with the output – the generated code, the automated blog post, the instant app. But the source of value is shifting upstream to the quality of the questions we ask and the systems we design. This is a terrifying thought for people who built their careers on technical execution.
It forces a shift from 'how' to 'why' and 'what if'. The most valuable skill is no longer syntax, but taste, judgement, and the ability to orchestrate complex systems. This is the new craft.
Are you spending more time refining your prompts than your code?
Drop me a reply. Till next time, this is Louis, and you are reading Louis.log().