Supervisory Engineering, AI and the Future of Software with Annie Vella

The rapid integration of AI into software development is shifting the role of engineers toward "supervisory engineering," where professionals spend more time directing, evaluating, and correcting AI-generated output than writing code. This transition creates new cognitive burdens and challenges traditional notions of accountability and craft. While AI offers productivity gains, it risks eroding foundational skills and job satisfaction, leading some developers to reject these tools. Beyond the code, the industry faces critical infrastructure bottlenecks, including massive increases in electricity demand for data centers and the need for robust identity frameworks for autonomous AI agents. Addressing these shifts requires a re-evaluation of engineering education, potentially moving toward apprenticeship-style models that prioritize systems thinking, judgment, and practical troubleshooting over rote coding tasks.