G Nithish Kumar

As developers, it s easy to fall into the I could just code this in a weekend mindset.

But I ve realized time, maintenance, and support often cost way more than the price of the tool.

Still, sometimes I just can t justify paying for something I know I could make.

Not talking sci-fi AGI or Skynet vibes.
I m talking about what s already happening today  AI tools managing access, auto-approving requests, resetting credentials, even triggering deployments.
Basically, AI now holds the keys to your digital kingdom .

For me?

• AI-driven password managers + SSO  No more juggling 50 logins.

• Auto-approval bots in ITSM  Cuts ticket waiting from hours to seconds.

• Just-In-Time (JIT) AI access control  Permissions only when needed.

• Self-healing security agents  Patch and fix without a human in the loop.

Sounds amazing, right? Productivity skyrockets.

So here s something I ve been thinking about lately: with the rise of AI coding assistants, boilerplate generation, and one-click scaffolding tools are we heading toward a future where fewer developers are actually needed to build great products?

I don t mean tomorrow but maybe 5, 10, 15 years out. If AI keeps improving (and honestly, it s already kind of insane), will we still need large engineering teams? Or will smaller teams even solo devs be able to ship like never before?

I m not saying devs are going extinct (I m a dev myself ), but I do wonder:

• Will early-stage startups hire fewer engineers?

• Will AI handle more of the grunt work while we focus on product logic and creative direction?

• Could this shift what it even means to be a developer?