I'm sure that's true but I've also seen non-developers build systems using Access or solve complex critical business problems using excel and similar. I've seen

I'm sure that's true but I've also seen non-developers build systems using Access or solve complex critical business problems using excel and similar. I've seen a lot of junior developers tinker with apps and do great work from reading docs and tutorials. I was one of those myself a long time ago. For some problems this is a perfect solution. For a lot it's a short term fix that turns into a long term issue. I've been on many a project that's had to undo these types of setups, for very valid reasons and usually at a very high cost. Often you find them in clusters, with virtually no one actually having a full understanding of what they actually do anymore. Building the initial app is only a very small part of software engineering. Maintaining and supporting a service/business and helping them evolve is far harder, but essential. My experience is that complexity builds very quickly to a point it's unsustainable if not managed well. I fear AI could well accelerate that process in a lot of situations if engineering knowledge and tradeoffs are assumed to included in what it provides.