A senior engineer from Anthropic believes a new wave of AI agents that can actively use computers is set to change how most internet-based jobs are done, and the shift could happen sooner than expected. Speaking in a recent conversation on Lenny’s Podcast, Claude Code creator Boris Cherny explained that AI is moving beyond chat-style assistants into systems that can actually perform tasks across workplace software.
Unlike traditional AI chatbots that mainly generate text or images, these newer AI agents can take actions. They can run commands, study files, communicate through apps, and complete workflows across multiple tools- similar to how a human employee would operate a computer during a normal workday.
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‘It’s going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer,’ Cherny said. ‘In the meantime, it’s going to be very disruptive. It’s going to be painful for a lot of people.’
Anthropic’s own coding-focused AI system is designed around this idea. However, the company recently said that the technology is still not as capable as an experienced human.
‘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.
Inside Anthropic, the impact is already visible. Cherny shared that his own engineering teams are completing more work in less time by relying on AI, leading to a noticeable rise in productivity.
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In another discussion with Y Combinator’s Lightcone podcast, Cherny suggested that the traditional title of a software engineer could begin to fade as early as 2026.
For professionals worried about the change, his advice is simple: start learning and experimenting now. ‘Don’t be scared of them,’ he said.