Or is programming just one part of software engineering, while problem definition, architecture, system design, tradeoffs, verification, reliability, system measurement and analysis, debugging, communication, and ownership make up much of the profession?

I think we’ve confused coding, the activity that historically consumed much of many engineers’ time, with software engineering itself.

Less time translating intent into syntax. More time understanding problems, designing systems, making tradeoffs, measuring outcomes, and taking responsibility for what we build.

I don’t think AI changed the profession. I think it is unshackling us to spend more of our time actually practicing engineering.

AI isn’t diminishing the craft of software engineering. Used correctly, it allows us to go deeper into it.