AI will transform coding into a creative pursuit, like painting: Musk

Elon Musk weighed in on the changing landscape of software development on X, suggesting that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will change coding from a functional task into a creative one, similar to painting.

Responding to an online comment about the nature of coding, Musk said that AI has “taken a lot of the drudgery out of writing software.”

He then compared the shift to how art and portraiture have evolved over centuries. "In the old days, you needed a professional painter to spend many days just to make one selfie (fka a portrait) just so people could know what you looked like! Now, you can make a video selfie instantly & effortlessly," his post read. Musk added that traditional painting is now mainly a recreational activity rather than a necessity and opined that a similar trajectory awaits software development.



Coding was the first breakout application of generative AI, adopted by companies across sectors. Major hyperscalers, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia, have launched AI-powered coding agents that automate large parts of the development cycle. These tools can generate, review, troubleshoot and even deploy code with minimal human intervention.

As agentic tools become more capable, the responsibilities of software developers are changing. Routine coding work is being offloaded to AI, allowing engineers to focus on planning and creative design.