# Why are we so afraid of code as a commodity?

DevFeed: [Why are we so afraid of code as a commodity?](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-are-we-so-afraid-of-code-as-a-commodity-10240.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.figma.com/blog/why-are-we-so-afraid-of-code-as-a-commodity/>)

Author: Kris Rasmussen

Published: 2024-06-26T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Figma Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/figma-blog.md>)

Topics: [Artificial Intelligence](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ai.md>), [Generative AI](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/generative-ai.md>), [Figma](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/figma.md>), [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [React](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/react.md>), [TypeScript](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/typescript.md>), [Kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kotlin.md>), [Jetpack](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/jetpack.md>), [Complex Systems](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/complex-systems.md>)

Tags: [ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ai.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [figma](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/figma.md>), [frameworks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/frameworks.md>), [generative-ai](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/generative-ai.md>), [jetpack](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/jetpack.md>), [kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kotlin.md>), [programming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/programming.md>), [react](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/react.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [systems](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/systems.md>), [typescript](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/typescript.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that AI-assisted development may automate code translation and parts of the design-to-code workflow, but engineering remains more than producing code. Engineers continue to add value by identifying the right problems, reasoning from first principles, designing abstractions, and creating elegant, maintainable systems that address user needs. Framework-specific expertise may decline in relative value, while broader engineering judgment remains difficult to commoditize.

## Source excerpt

Instead of asking how AI will automate our jobs, we should be focusing on what we, as engineers, uniquely do well. What problems can AI currently solve, and where is the whitespace to go beyond that?