Box Inc. CEO Aaron Levie on Saturday said artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing engineer productivity and is more likely to drive hiring growth across industries than reduce the need for software engineers.
AI Turns Engineers Into High-Output Powerhouses
In a post on X, Levie challenged the idea that AI will reduce demand for software engineers, outlining a scenario in which businesses historically constrained by cost and talent shortages now gain access to advanced AI tools.
“If you think AI replaces software engineers, here’s a quick thought experiment,” Levie wrote, describing how companies in industries like life sciences previously scaled back software ambitions due to limited engineering resources.
“Every new software project has a fixed cost of a certain-sized team,” he said, noting that this forced organizations to prioritize only essential initiatives.
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With AI tools now widely available, Levie said engineers across industries are using “the same AI models as the tech industry,” effectively boosting productivity and narrowing the gap between tech companies and traditional sectors.
“Do you continue with your pared-down approach, or do you start to hire more engineers because each engineer is 2X or 5X more capable than before?” he wrote.
He added that most companies he speaks with are choosing expansion over contraction, hiring more talent to take advantage of increased output.
If you think AI replaces software engineers, here’s a quick thought experiment.
Imagine you’re a life sciences company. 10 years ago you want to invest heavily in lab automation, processing data at scale, and other software. You look at the cost of doing so and realize you… https://t.co/DmLIJJi5S5
— Aaron Levie (@levie) May 2, 2026
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AI Leaders Say Technology Will Reshape Jobs
Earlier, NVIDIA Corp. CEO Jensen Huang said AI had become central to a new industrial revolution, arguing it was transforming jobs by eliminating some tasks while creating new ones.
He said engineers would remain key in shaping AI into useful, trusted technology and that the industry would generate new jobs and industries despite disruption.
Uber Technologies Inc. reported widespread AI adoption in software development, with 95% of engineers using AI tools monthly.
The company said AI agents were now autonomously generating thousands of code changes weekly, marking a major shift in how engineering work is done.