A question has been raised about the future of the architect role with the rise of AI. If human-built software (and SaaS, as claimed by Microsoft’s CEO) is going away, what happens to the practice of architecture?
I’m rarely optimistic (the curse of architecture, I guess), but I feel safe.
Being an architect isn’t just about technical skills, checking quality attributes, or having a bunch of soft skills. It’s about forecasting behavior, anticipating change, and, more importantly, applying real systemic thinking—spotting patterns and understanding how they evolve across different contexts.
AI won’t replace architects, especially in large enterprises or complex systems. The trade-offs, alignments, and creative problem-solving—even innovation itself—require more than just data crunching. It takes awareness, intuition, and a mix of art, method, and elegance.
Architecture is about designing something that fits a purpose. And to get that right, we go through endless rounds of refining requirements and making sense of them. AI will (and already does) make people lazy—we see it in the declining quality of code and content.
AI can generate, but it can’t qualify or validate.
It speeds up output, but without intent, it just accelerates garbage.
Let’s be honest: no client is going to throw a vague “I need an application to handle my process and cost me less than now” at an AI and get a well-structured, risk-assessed, future-proofed solution without hallucinations.
That said, AI is a powerful tool. It’s already helping architects move faster, cutting through multiple technical domains, gathering insights, and automating the grunt work. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now—it’s making me more efficient, letting me focus on actual architecture instead of chasing documents and aligning contracts.
Just to remind you that architecture isn’t just about speed; it’s about judgment.
Take a large system migration—aligning security, compliance, cost, and scalability isn’t just a checklist; it’s an art. AI can assist, but it doesn’t have the strategic thinking to balance those forces effectively. It doesn’t see beyond immediate outputs, and it certainly doesn’t think long-term.
So no, I’m not worried. AI will change how we work, but it won’t take our work.
PS : ©️ Image by GETTY
Top comments (2)
You are right not to worry.
IMHO - people only use AI for tasks nobody cares about... :) If you do care - it actually takes longer to chat and then verify what's been generated. If you are a professional - you will be quicker by not using AI in my opinion.
I totally agree ... I still see AI as an accelerator to Efficiency. I don't see it more Performant. Nevertheless, some positions will disappear, like what happened before when Word Precessors emerged to replace whole floors of typewriters or Spreadsheets replaced bookkeeping accountants. We still need those tasks, but with less stuff 🤷🏻