Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu urges engineers to keep control as AI transforms coding
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has weighed in on the growing dependence on artificial intelligence in software development, stressing that developers should use AI without surrendering their understanding of the systems they build.
The discussion began after a social media post highlighted how technology teams are increasingly using AI across different stages of product development. These include writing software, preparing product requirements, testing applications and handling support tickets.
The post also pointed to growing pressure on developers to deliver products faster, with AI-generated work becoming an increasingly important part of the process.
Responding to the discussion, Vembu said AI could significantly improve productivity but cautioned engineers against allowing the technology to replace their own technical understanding.
He said Zoho encourages its engineers to use AI while retaining a strong grasp of the systems they develop. Vembu compared excessive dependence on AI to driving an advanced car without properly understanding how it works, warning that moving rapidly without sufficient understanding could create serious problems.
His comments sparked a wider debate online about the changing role of software engineers.
Some social media users said the issue extends beyond programming, pointing to the growing use of AI tools in consulting, customer support and presentation preparation. Others argued that the bigger concern is not AI producing code, but people deploying software they no longer fully understand.