Will AI replace Web Developers?

A few days ago I received 2 emails asking me if learning Web Development is worth it, since AI now can do our job, in many cases better than us.

Wherever you look, your feed is probably filled with AI tools spitting out entire websites in seconds.

And I get it - I was there too, thinking ‘Is this it? Did I just waste the two decades I spent learning Web Development the hard way only for AI to make it all pointless?’

As the vast majority of developers, I’ve spent the past year using AI a lot. It makes me so much more productive. But will it replace me? And most importantly, will it replace you, fledging developer still learning the basics?

Did AI just take all the junior dev jobs?

Plot twist, this isn’t another ‘AI will take all our jobs’ doom video. It’s also not a “AI is a fad”.

In the next few minutes, I’m going to show you what AI can and can’t do in web development right now, and more importantly - how you can use it to become a better developer, not a replaced one.

Let me write a full script that builds on your outline while maintaining the engaging intro style:

If you’ve been on X any time in the past few months, you’ve probably seen these viral tweets saying ‘Just ask ChatGPT to build your website!’ ‘Web development is dead!’ ‘Why learn to code when AI can do it for you?’

And I’ll be honest - they’re not entirely wrong. AI can write code. Sometimes pretty decent code.

But here’s what those viral posts aren’t telling you, because they’re mostly written just for the engagement, without any real thinking.

I spent some time building the same project twice. Once with pure self artisanal coding, once with AI. And yes, the AI version was faster… at first. But then something interesting happened.

The AI-only version was like a house of cards. It looked good, but:

• Dependencies were outdated
• Security vulnerabilities everywhere
• Performance was terrible …and sometimes it generated garbage code.

The only way I could recognize all of that was because I already knew how things worked.

The AI confidently wrote code using outdated React patterns. It mixed different versions of libraries. And unless you already know modern web development, you won’t even realize there’s a problem.

So point #1, AI is great if you’re already a developer. A senior developer, that knows its stuff inside out.

Point #2 I want to make is that the code generated by AI didn’t feel mine. I discussed this with several people. Those working in teams didn’t really mind because their working life already involves working with code they don’t fully know, or understand.

Especially of course in large codebases. I’ve been there too.

But these days I’m working on many small projects and I’m the only dev working on them, and I feel at home in any codebase, any time I open a project. Because I wrote all of that code. And AI kinda ruined that.

As a result, I know my code less well, and I must do extra effort to “read” the code and understand it after it’s been written.

Good luck maintaining that code if you’re the only one that’s working on it, and you don’t understand what it does.

But using the AI to do small tasks is great. ⠀

AI is like having an insanely fast junior developer who works for free or for $20 a month. Like any junior dev, it needs supervision, but unlike a junior dev, you skip the mentoring.

One thing I do a lot is asking the AI to improve code I write, to see if it can be written in a more concise way, or more optimized.

This is what I call the Lazy Trap. Sure, you can do this. And for simple projects, it might even work. I feel it removes some intellectual work, and I can look at it with nostalgia, but then I think of all the free time I get which I can invest in other projects, or in walking my dog more.

Let’s talk about what this means for jobs, because this is probably why you’re watching.

Yes, some web development jobs will disappear. But not all of them.

The truth is, AI isn’t replacing web developers - it’s replacing mediocre web developers. The “learn HTML in 2 weeks and get hired” era? That’s over.

But here’s the exciting part - and why I’m actually optimistic about the future of web development.

AI is changing the game in ways nobody’s talking about. Instead of thinking “AI vs Developers,” think “AI + Developers.”

Here’s my three-step strategy for becoming an AI-proof developer:

First, Use AI as Your Mentor. Especially as you learn, but even once you’re good, because you’ll always be learning anyway.

• Get explanations
• Debug your code
• Learn best practices

Then, Level Up to using AI as a Coworker

• Write the core logic yourself, then hand it off the the coworker, review the code, learn from it.
• Let AI catch your mistakes

Finally, Graduate to AI Manager

• You architect the solution
• AI writes it
• You manage the AI bots
• you ship stuff, owning the result.

AI will only get better. In just a short amount of time we’ve gotten amazing tools including GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor. And tools like v0 and Bolt are doing giant leaps.

Every code editor and dev tool will have AI, AI capabilities will keep improving and The gap between AI-savvy and AI-resistant developers will grow.

So, is AI making web development pointless? No - it’s making mediocre web development pointless.

But it’s also creating opportunities for developers who adapt. You can:

• Build your own apps faster than ever
• Focus on solving real problems
• Let AI handle the boring stuff

We’ll never see non-developers using AI to build apps, tho.

You’ll always have to be a developer to build software anyway. And there’s no “fast-track” for this. Invest time in learning Web Development, especially the fundamentals, really well. So you’ll be able to know when the AI is doing its job correctly. (and the best way to do that is through my Bootcamp).

The question isn’t whether AI will replace developers. The question is: will you be the developer who gets replaced, or the one who leverages AI to become irreplaceable?