The line between developer and architect is getting thinner

The line between developer and architect is getting thinner

I didn’t plan to become an architect.

Like many developers, I started by writing code.

Solving concrete problems. Making things work. Improving them one commit at a time.

But lately, something has shifted.

With AI doing more of the implementation work, I find myself spending less time writing code and more time deciding what should exist, how it should be structured, and why it should work that way.

And that’s where the line starts to blur.

Writing code versus designing systems

Traditionally, the roles felt distinct.

Developers implemented.

Architects designed.

One focused on execution, the other on structure and long-term decisions.

But when AI can generate implementations in seconds, the bottleneck moves.

The hard part is no longer typing code.

It’s making the right decisions before the code exists.

What should this component own?

Where does this responsibility belong?

What happens when this scales, changes, or breaks?

Those questions used to live “above” the code.

Now, they are part of everyday development.

I notice it in small moments.

I’ll ask an AI to implement a feature, then spend more time reshaping or discarding the result than I would have spent writing it myself.

Not because the code is bad, but because the decisions behind it are wrong.

AI didn’t replace developers, it shifted the weight

I don’t feel replaced.

But I do feel repositioned.

The value I bring today is less about syntax and more about:

• defining boundaries
• choosing trade-offs
• anticipating consequences
• keeping coherence across a system

AI helps me move faster, but only if I already know where I’m going.

Without direction, speed just creates confusion.

If I’m honest, I think we are becoming more like architects, and less like pure producers.

And personally, I see that as a good thing.

Not because coding matters less, but because it becomes more accessible.

Lower barriers mean more people can build, experiment, and create.

The focus shifts from “can you write this?” to “does this make sense?”

Not everyone wants to be an architect

And that’s important to say.

Some developers genuinely enjoy deep implementation work.

Optimizing, refining, polishing details.

Living close to the code.

If AI pushes everyone upward, toward abstraction and decision-making, it raises a real question:
what happens to those who don’t want that role?

Are we all becoming accidental architects?

Or will the definition of “developer” simply expand?

I don’t have a definitive answer.

But avoiding decisions doesn’t preserve the old role.

It just means those decisions get made elsewhere.

A role in motion

What I do know is this:

the boundary between developer and architect feels thinner than ever.

Not because titles are changing, but because the daily work is.

I still write code.

But more and more, my main responsibility is making sure the code that exists makes sense as a whole.

An open question

So I’m curious how others experience this shift:

Do you feel your role changing with AI in the mix?

Are you spending more time on structure and decisions than implementation?

Is this a direction you welcome, or one you’re resisting?

I’d like to hear how you see it.