AI tools are commoditizing the act of writing code (software development). The durable skill and key differentiator is now software engineering: architecting systems, creating great user experiences, and applying taste. Building something people want to use is the new challenge.

The primary question for creators is no longer just 'can I build this?' but 'should this exist as an app at all?' With frontier models able to 'one-shot' complex tasks, developers must adopt a higher-order thinking loop to decide if the friction of building, deploying, and maintaining an app is justified over simply using the base model's raw power.

As AI accelerates software development, basic functionality becomes table stakes. Figma's CEO contends that differentiation and winning now depend entirely on design, craft, and a strong point of view, as 'good enough' products will no longer succeed.

The speed and simplicity of AI development tools have led to a surge in 'vibe coded' products. These applications are often fun to build and appear impressive but lack the rigorous product thinking and engineering discipline required for long-term viability and maintenance.

With code becoming cheaper and faster to write thanks to AI, the critical differentiator is no longer the ability to build, but the judgment and taste to decide what is worth building among countless user requests and possibilities.

With AI commoditizing code creation, the sustainable value for software companies shifts. Customers pay for reliability, support, compliance, and security patches—the 'never ending maintenance commitment'—which becomes the key differentiator when anyone can build an initial app quickly.

Advanced AI tools have made writing software trivially easy, erasing the traditional moat of technical execution. The new differentiators for businesses are non-technical assets like brand trust, distribution networks, and community, as the software itself has become instantly replicable.

The current focus in the AI-assisted coding space is on building apps. However, as more companies create custom tools, the critical, unsolved problem becomes who will maintain, update, and secure these apps over the next five years, creating a significant operational burden.

As AI makes it incredibly easy to build products, the market will be flooded with options. The critical, differentiating skill will no longer be technical execution but human judgment: deciding *what* should exist, which features matter, and the right distribution strategy. Synthesizing these elements is where future value lies.