‘Frees up time to…’: Sundar Pichai explains why AI won’t replace human coders

The rise of artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, is transforming the tech landscape, with companies developing advanced systems that may take over some human roles. This shift gained momentum earlier this year when OpenAI debuted a Deep Research agent, aimed at potentially replacing entry-level research assistants. Following that, OpenAI introduced the Codex software engineering tool, and Google showcased its own coding agent, Jules, during I/O 2025. Despite concerns voiced by industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who warned that up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs could vanish in the next one to five years, Google CEO Sundar Pichai maintains a positive outlook. In a recent discussion with Lex Fridman, Pichai revealed that approximately 30% of the code written at Google now incorporates AI assistance. He emphasized that this technology is enabling human engineers to focus on more innovative tasks, and Google is planning to expand its workforce of software engineers in the near future. Pichai elaborated on the impact of AI on engineering productivity, stating, "We have measured that our engineering velocity has increased by about 10% due to AI. This is a significant metric for us." He expressed confidence that the expansion of opportunities in the tech field would lead to more hiring. He highlighted the notion that while AI can handle repetitive tasks, it also allows engineers to engage in more creative aspects of coding, such as design and problem-solving. According to Pichai, this enhancement of creativity and efficiency should make coding more enjoyable for engineers, giving them more time to collaborate and innovate. "The goal is to empower more people to create and ultimately have more engineers capable of doing impactful work," he concluded.