Science and Technology Daily: The software industry will not come to an end; it is only being reshaped by AI. The ongoing technological revolution is driving profound changes across all sectors, prompting continuous innovation and adaptation. As AI technologies advance, they are transforming traditional software development, improving efficiency, and opening new possibilities for future growth. Despite challenges, the industry remains dynamic and resilient, ensuring its vital role in economic and social development for years to come.

Will AI (Artificial Intelligence) End the Software Industry?
Recently, the market and industry have been voting with their actions on this hot topic. Concerns on Wall Street in the United States about AI’s impact on the software industry continue to ferment, with software stocks experiencing sell-offs that quickly spread to global markets. Meanwhile, the tech community has voiced very different opinions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang directly stated that the view that “AI will replace software tools” is “illogical”; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said that the ways software is created, used, and its business models are undergoing profound changes, but “software will not disappear.”

The trigger for this wave of controversy was the impact of AI startup Anthropic’s vertical tools on traditional software functions: this AI legal plugin can perform various document tasks, including tracking compliance issues and reviewing legal documents, which are core features of many legal software products. When AI can automatically complete a large amount of work that previously relied on specialized software, the market cannot help but question: if AI can directly complete tasks, do we still need separate software?

This pessimism has evolved from the impact of a single AI tool to a reassessment of the overall business model of the software industry, ultimately pointing to a core question — is the SaaS (Software as a Service) business model being shaken by AI?

Over the past decade, the subscription-based, continuously updated, highly customer-retentive SaaS model has been the most stable growth engine in the software industry. But now, all of this is no longer “a matter of course.” With the rapid development of generative AI and intelligent agent technology, users only need to specify their needs, and AI can analyze, generate reports, and even automate workflows. The value of software as an intermediary layer tool is beginning to be compressed. As intelligent agents become more practical, AI’s ability to call across systems and integrate multiple software functions into a single conversation or command further diminishes the presence of individual software products.

Meanwhile, the enhancement of AI code generation capabilities has significantly shortened software development cycles and lowered development barriers. The industry is shifting from “labor-intensive production” to “intelligent production,” and traditional business models centered on features and subscriptions are facing direct challenges.

But in the longer term, AI will not end the software industry; instead, it is rewriting its operational logic. The paradigm of software development is shifting from “humans write code + tool assistance” to “humans define goals + AI generates implementation,” with developers transitioning from code producers to system designers and AI collaborators. The way software is used is also changing—from tools that require learning to operate, to intelligent systems that understand needs and proactively execute tasks. Future software competition will no longer be just about features or richness, but about intelligence level and industry understanding depth.

More importantly, AI is creating new software spaces. Infrastructure demands such as model training platforms, data engineering, AI security, and evaluation systems are rapidly growing; industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and finance are upgrading to intelligent systems that require a large amount of “AI + industry knowledge”; and AI technologies represented by intelligent agents are also opening up application ecosystems. These new fields, in fact, demand higher software engineering capabilities and are nurturing new industry opportunities.

Therefore, rather than saying AI will end the software industry, it is more accurate to say that it is ending the “old software era.” Software will not disappear, but its form, development methods, and business models are being comprehensively reshaped. Companies that can deeply integrate AI capabilities with industry scenarios will gain greater space in the new wave of industrial transformation; traditional software companies lacking technological and scenario barriers may be accelerated out in this restructuring. The software industry is not heading toward an end but is entering a new stage centered on intelligence.

(Source: Science and Technology Daily)