Asger Risom
Anthropic engineer Boris Cherny says AI agents capable of operating computers will disrupt nearly every computer-based job in America, warning the transition will be “painful” but urging workers not to fear the tools.
A senior Anthropic engineer says a new generation of AI agents capable of operating computers could soon transform — and disrupt — almost every internet-based job in America.
Boris Cherny, the creator of Anthropic’s Claude Code system, warned that the shift will be rapid and “painful” for many workers.
“It’s going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer,” Cherny said on “Lenny’s Podcast.” “In the meantime, it’s going to be very disruptive. It’s going to be painful for a lot of people.”
From chatbot to digital co-worker
Claude Code is Anthropic’s AI coding agent built on top of its Claude models. Unlike a traditional chatbot that simply generates text, an AI agent can execute commands, analyze documents, message colleagues, complete tasks across applications, and even build websites.
The latest version, Opus 4.6, was released earlier this month.
According to Cherny, AI systems that can take action across workplace tools are advancing quickly and could soon reshape the responsibilities of software engineers, product managers, designers, and other knowledge workers.
“It’s the thing that I think brings agentic AI to people that haven’t really used it before, and people are starting to just get a sense of it for the first time,” he said.
While Anthropic has said its tools have not yet reached the level of a skilled human, Cherny indicated that progress is accelerating.
Job titles could disappear
Cherny previously suggested that the job title “software engineer” could begin to “go away” as soon as 2026, as AI agents take over larger portions of coding and digital task management.
He said productivity within his own team has increased sharply since Claude Code’s launch, though he acknowledged the broader societal implications remain uncertain.
“As a society, this is a conversation we have to figure out together,” Cherny said. “Anyone can just build software anytime.”
Advice for workers
For those concerned about being displaced, Cherny offered simple guidance: learn how to use the tools rather than avoid them.
“Don’t be scared of them,” he said.
Whether AI agents ultimately augment workers or replace them remains one of the central questions facing the tech industry — and the American labor market — in the years ahead.
Sources: Business Insider, Lenny’s Podcast, Lightcone (Y Combinator)
