--- title: "Software Engineers Are Facing an Existential Crisis As They Drown In Horrendous AI Code" description: "A lot of ink has been spilled on the programmers who got replaced by AI agents. But it doesn't sound like it's a whole better for the ones who avoided getting the axe, either." date: "2026-06-25" modified: "2026-06-25" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/software-engineers-crisis-drown-ai-code" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" --- # Software Engineers Are Facing an Existential Crisis As They Drown In Horrendous AI Code ![A stylized photo illustration of a man looking at his laptop with a sad, mournful expression.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Shutterstock* A lot of ink has been spilled on the programmers who got replaced by AI agents. But it doesn't sound like it's a whole better for the ones who avoided getting the axe, either. According to Deedy Das, a partner at the VC firm Menlo Ventures, the rapid embrace of AI tools is tearing companies apart by creating a "class divide" between brainless vibe coders and experienced engineers. The veteran "craftsmen" engineers — the ones who actually care about their profession — are forced to wade through and fix the swamp of terrible AI code that comes their way, leaving them despondently questioning their livelihoods. "Most software engineers are facing an identity crisis bordering on depression," Das wrote in a [lengthy X post](), spotted [by *Business Insider*](). Das is speaking to an increasingly documented trend in tech and tech adjacent sectors. Bosses are demanding that employees use AI tools as much as they can, with some workplaces like Meta even factoring their workers' AI usage into their performance reviews. It's not an entirely top-down phenomenon: "tokenmaxxing" is the meme-cum-ethos that chronically online engineers have embraced this year, in which excessive AI usage is a virtue. Some studies have explored this phenomenon. One harbingered the bureaucracy of "[workslop]()" — shoddy AI-generated outputs that lazy workers pass onto their colleagues. This creates the illusion of increased productivity, but in reality needs to be corrected by a fastidious coworker. Brewing resentment ensues. Das describes this dynamic in dramatic fashion. "The craftsmen are tired," he wrote. "Day after day, their workload grows. Bugs seep into production. No one seems to care. Another round of AI is thrown at it. Their animosity to their colleagues rises." "Eventually, they give up," he added. "The craft they loved is dead." Indeed, plunging spirits are being [felt across the industry](). Meta has [demoralized its workforce]() by firing thousands of employees, pushing the survivors to use AI, and relocating them onto "[soulless]()" AI projects they have no interesting in work on. The actual economics of AI automation, meanwhile, remain pretty dubious. Companies are using so many AI agents that consultancies are cautioning against "AI agent sprawl." And they're racking up absurd usage fees, with one unnamed firm [reportedly blowing $500 million]() on Claude in a single month. **More on AI:** [*Meta's Program That Spies on Every Employee’s Computer Just Blew Up in Its Face in Spectacular Fashion*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()