Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to replace midlevel software engineers with artificial intelligence by 2025, signaling a major shift in how the tech giant approaches software development.
Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast Friday, Zuckerberg revealed that Meta and other leading tech companies are developing AI systems capable of handling complex coding tasks currently performed by human engineers.
“We’re going to have an AI that can effectively be a sort of midlevel engineer that you have at your company that can write code,” Zuckerberg said. The move could eventually lead to AI handling all coding across Meta’s applications, though he acknowledged initial implementation costs would be significant. Current mid-level software engineers at Meta earn compensation packages approaching $500,000.
The announcement comes amid broader organisational changes at the social media company. Meta plans to eliminate its dedicated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team, according to an internal memo from VP of Human Resources Janelle Gale shared on the company’s Workplace platform.
Additionally, the company will replace its third-party fact-checking system with community notes, similar to the approach used by Elon Musk’s X platform. The decision has drawn criticism from fact-checking organizations, who expressed their concerns in an open letter to Zuckerberg, calling it “a step backward” for the company.