In Leaked Audio, Amazon Cloud CEO Says Human Developers Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past

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During a leaked "fireside chat," Matt Garman, head of Amazon Web Services (AWS), suggested that within roughly two years, human developers may need to shift their skill sets as AI-powered coding tools become mainstream.

"If you go forward 24 months from now, or some amount of time — I can't exactly predict where it is — it's possible that most developers are not coding," Garman stated in audio obtained by Business Insider.

The Changing Role of Developers

Just a month after overseeing significant AWS job reductions in April, Garman was elevated to CEO. His rapid rise during a period of workforce adjustments positioned him to address evolving expectations for tech talent.

"Coding is just kind of like the language that we talk to computers. It's not necessarily the skill in and of itself," the CEO explained. "The skill in and of itself is like, how do I innovate? How do I go build something that's interesting for my end users to use?"

"Being a developer in 2026 may be different than what it was as a developer in 2020," Garman added, underscoring how the day-to-day work is shifting toward higher-level problem solving and customer-focused innovation.

AI and the Future of Coding

Although AWS clarified that Garman was not delivering a warning, his remarks highlight growing concerns about automation in software development. Industry observers have long discussed AI's potential to handle large portions of coding tasks, yet the exact timeline and scope of displacement remain subjects of ongoing debate.

No Code

Garman did not name specific AI systems, but the context of current discussions around tech employment made clear he was referring to AI tools taking over routine coding work. Developers, he suggested, will increasingly focus on understanding customer needs and defining the end product rather than writing every line of code.

"It just means that each of us has to get more in tune with what our customers need and what the actual end thing is that we're going to try to go build," he noted, "because that's going to be more and more of what the work is as opposed to sitting down and actually writing code."

In a follow-up statement to BI, an AWS spokesperson emphasized that Garman was highlighting opportunities for developers to "accomplish more than they do today." The company framed the vision as one in which AWS removes routine infrastructure tasks, allowing builders to concentrate on creative and innovative projects.

What exactly that innovative work will look like continues to unfold.

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