AI Agents Will Transform Every Computer-Based Job in America: A Warning from Anthropic's Top Engineer

AI Agents Are Set to Reshape the Workforce

A top engineer at Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI chatbot, has issued a stark warning: AI agents capable of operating computers like humans will transform nearly every internet-based job in America—and the change is coming soon.

Boris Cherny, the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, recently appeared on "Lenny's Podcast" hosted by Lenny Rachitsky. He stated that AI systems that can take action across workplace computer tools are advancing rapidly and could soon alter responsibilities for software engineers, product managers, designers, and other knowledge workers.

Caption: A top Claude engineer said his product is getting more advanced. He is warning that it could disrupt computer-based jobs.

The Power of AI Agents

Unlike traditional chatbots that generate text or images, AI agents can use digital tools—running commands, analyzing documents, messaging colleagues, completing tasks across apps, and even building websites. Essentially, Claude Code can increasingly use a computer the way a human does, though the company recently said it has yet to reach the level of a skilled human.

Cherny emphasized: "It's going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer. In the meantime, it's going to be very disruptive. It's going to be painful for a lot of people."

Rapid Advancements and Impact

Claude Code is Anthropic's AI coding agent built on top of its Claude models. The company released its latest updates, called Opus 4.6, in early February. Cherny says his own team already relies on AI to work faster, with productivity per engineer increasing sharply since Claude Code's launch. He believes the models will continue improving.

Cherny recently said in an interview with Y Combinator's "Lightcone" podcast that the job title software engineer will start to 'go away' in 2026. The broader impact remains uncertain, but he warned: "As a society, this is a conversation we have to figure out together. Anyone can just build software anytime."

Advice for Workers

For workers navigating this shift, Cherny's advice is direct: experiment with AI tools and learn how they function. "Don't be scared of them," he said. He believes that understanding and adapting to these technologies is crucial for staying relevant in the evolving job market.

This transformation highlights the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the face of rapid technological change.