# The Creator of Pandas on AI, Apache Arrow, and the Future of Software Engineering

DevFeed: [The Creator of Pandas on AI, Apache Arrow, and the Future of Software Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-creator-of-pandas-on-ai-apache-arrow-and-the-future-of-software-engineering-38717.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://dataengineeringcentral.substack.com/p/the-creator-of-pandas-on-ai-apache>)

Author: Daniel Beach

Published: 2026-07-08T12:16:09Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Data Engineering Central](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/data-engineering-central.md>)

Topics: [pandas](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/pandas.md>), [data-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-engineering.md>), [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [DuckDB](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/duckdb.md>), [data-platforms](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-platforms.md>), [software-development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software-development.md>), [future of software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/future-of-software.md>), [Apache Spark](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/spark.md>), [Hadoop](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/hadoop.md>), [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [parquet](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/parquet.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [apache-arrow](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/apache-arrow.md>), [arrow](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/arrow.md>), [data](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data.md>), [data-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-engineering.md>), [data-platforms](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-platforms.md>), [duckdb](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/duckdb.md>), [hadoop](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/hadoop.md>), [large-language-models](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/large-language-models.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>), [pandas](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pandas.md>), [parquet](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/parquet.md>), [software-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-development.md>)

## AI overview

An interview with Wes McKinney covers the origins of pandas and Apache Arrow, the evolution of modern data engineering from Hadoop to lakehouse architectures, and the roles of tools such as Parquet, DuckDB, DataFusion, and Spark. McKinney also discusses how AI affects software development, arguing that it can improve experienced engineers' productivity but does not replace software engineering, architecture, or judgment.

## Source excerpt

interview with Wes McKinney