Facebook’s Early Indian Engineer Reflects on AI Replacing Human Coding

Aditya Agarwal, one of Facebook’s earliest engineers and former CTO of Dropbox, has shared a deeply personal account of how the rise of AI is reshaping the craft of software development.

In a post on X, Agarwal described his weekend coding with Anthropic’s AI model Claude as both awe-inspiring and unsettling. He admitted that the experience left him convinced that “we will never write code by hand again,” calling the skill that once defined his career “free and abundant.”

When a Craft Disappears Overnight

Agarwal is no ordinary technologist — he built Facebook’s first search engine, became its Director of Product Engineering, and later led Dropbox as CTO. Now, he sees both the function (writing complex code) and the form (building social networks) of his early career being replicated by AI agents. He noted that even social content created by “lobster-agents” is nearly indistinguishable from human output.

“I am happy but also sad and confused,” he wrote, adding that the shift feels not just technological but profoundly human.

The ‘Photography Moment’ for Software

His reflections sparked debate among technologists. Some likened the moment to the invention of photography, which forced painters to abandon realism and embrace impressionism. “Coding was our realism,” one user wrote. “Now we must find our impressionism.”

Others warned that decades of expertise can now be rivaled by “the best prompt in the room,” signaling a recalibration of professional value across knowledge work. More cautious voices compared the current phase to a gold rush, predicting a decline in average software quality as the industry adapts.

Market Anxiety Mirrors Personal Unease

Agarwal’s comments come amid volatility in global tech markets. The launch of Anthropic’s new AI tools triggered a sell-off in software and IT stocks, as investors questioned whether AI will reduce demand for traditional coding, legal, and enterprise services. Analysts describe this as a structural shift, challenging long-held assumptions about labor, productivity, and value in the software industry.