Software Engineering Is About Managing Complexity, Not Writing Code

As AI makes code generation trivial, the real engineering challenge shifts to managing complexity. This article argues that writing code is not the same as building software: the latter involves making architectural tradeoffs, understanding context, and owning the long-term consequences of decisions. It emphasizes that AI can generate solutions, but engineers must own the tradeoffs, and that algorithmic thinking and codebase ownership become more critical than ever.