Warning! Claude Code's Creator States: In One Month, Without Plan Mode, the Title of Software Engineer Will Disappear

Recently, a roundtable discussion at YC has become popular in the tech circle—Boris Cherny, the founder of Claude Code, faced four YC executives and immediately expressed disruptive views. He stated that programming is being "completely solved" by AI, and in a month, Plan Mode will gradually disappear, with multiple agents forming teams to work on their own; more shockingly, the title of "software engineer" will slowly fade from the stage in the future.

1. Dramatic Opening! YC President States: Claude Code Has Kept Me Awake for Three Weeks

The opening of this interview was filled with drama. YC President and CEO Garry Tan immediately got straight to the point, thanking Boris by saying, "Thank you for creating Claude Code; it has kept me awake for three weeks straight." This statement sounds exaggerated but is genuinely heartfelt—Garry said that using Claude Code feels like installing a rocket booster on someone.

Boris responded with a smile, recalling that he first experienced this "sleeplessness" in September 2024 when he had just created the prototype of Claude Code. At that time, he had not taken a single day off for three months, working overtime on weekends and late nights.

No one could have imagined that this product, which Boris himself was uncertain about at the time, would later cause such a significant stir. Even more surprising was that Claude Code initially started as an extremely simple terminal tool—Boris didn't even know how to use Anthropic's API and just casually created a terminal program to call the API.

But this "rudimentary prototype" quickly gained popularity within Anthropic. The most direct change was in the average engineering output at Anthropic—since the launch of Claude Code, this number has increased by 150%.

2. Disrupting Perceptions! Plan Mode Will Disappear in One Month, Multiple Agents Will Work Together

During the interview, Boris made a significant prediction: in another month, Plan Mode for Claude Code may no longer be needed, and it might even completely disappear in the future.

Boris explained very plainly: Plan Mode is not mysterious; it essentially adds a phrase "don't write code yet" in the prompt, allowing AI to plan before taking action. Now, Claude Code can already determine when planning is necessary and when it can execute directly.

Even more astonishing is the future of multiple agents—Boris said that in the future, multiple agents will form teams to work independently without much human intervention. He provided a real example: the plugins feature at Anthropic was almost "produced by a cluster of agents over a weekend."

Specifically, after a main agent receives a requirement, it will create a bunch of tasks in the task management tool and then automatically generate multiple sub-agents, who will claim tasks and collaborate, while the main agent is only responsible for overseeing the overall direction.

3. Shocking Statement: The Title of Software Engineer Will Disappear, Programming Becomes a "Default Ability"

The most controversial viewpoint of the entire interview was Boris's judgment on the title of "software engineer"—he bluntly stated that in the future, we will gradually see the title of "software engineer" fade away.

This does not mean that programming will disappear, but rather that writing code will shift from being a "core ability" to a "default ability." Boris mentioned that at Anthropic, many people's code is 70% to 100% written using Claude Code, and since he started using Opus 4.5, he has uninstalled his IDE and no longer writes a line of code by hand, completing 20 code submissions daily.

Another interesting detail is that Boris mentioned that the "shelf life" of code is now only a few months. Claude Code itself is repeatedly rewritten, and code from six months ago has almost entirely disappeared.

4. Practical Advice: Don't Bet Against the Model, A Beginner's Mindset is More Important than Experience

• First piece of advice: Don't create products for "today's model"; create products for "the model six months from now." AI's capabilities are growing exponentially.

• Second piece of advice: Don't bet against the model. Instead of spending a lot of energy building scaffolding, it’s better to wait for the model to improve.

• Third piece of advice: The most important ability in the new era is a "beginner's mindset." Being able to admit mistakes and let go of old experiences is more important than experience.

5. Conclusion: The Future of AI Programming is Not to Replace Humans, But to Restructure Work

After watching this interview, many people may feel anxious: Will AI replace programmers? In fact, Boris's words have already provided the answer—AI does not replace programmers, but rather those who "only know how to write code."

The rise of Claude Code was never a coincidence. It did not take the "high-end" route or create a complex UI, but instead started from the user's potential needs, iterating a simple terminal tool into an AI agent that can adjust tools, plan, and collaborate.

For us, rather than worrying about being replaced by AI, it is better to actively adapt to changes, maintain a beginner's mindset, and learn to collaborate with AI. The disappearance of the title of "software engineer" is not an end but the beginning of a more efficient and creative era of programming.