AI 時代開發者與軟件產品的未來：我們的產品能維持多久？

I have been thinking about something, and I would love to hear different perspectives from this community.

We have seen stories about AI recreating tools similar to existing Adobe products. We have also seen someone reportedly reduce his app subscription costs from roughly $1,000 to $200 by using Claude to build tools that better suit his needs.

Of course, he still pays for his Claude subscription. But the point is that he can now build something that gets him the results he wants without depending entirely on several existing paid tools.

Now, imagine you are a founder.

You have an idea. You spend months building the product, paying developers, running adverts, publishing content, and trying different promotions to attract users. Perhaps you even reduce your subscription prices to remain competitive.

Then someone comes along, uses AI to build a similar product, makes it open source, and gives it away for free.

What happens to your business?

You have invested time, money, and effort into building and marketing your product. Someone else comes along and offers an alternative at little or no cost to the user.

And the interesting thing is that the idea itself might not even be new. Even if it is, how long will it remain unique before someone else builds something similar?

How do we think about the longevity of the products we are building when AI keeps lowering the barrier to creating alternatives?

This also brings me back to the future of developers.

Yes, we have our technical knowledge and experience. We understand the things that go beyond generating code. But with AI becoming more accessible, will that technical advantage remain enough?

Will experience be the deciding factor, or will the ability to understand problems, deliver results, maintain systems, and build products people genuinely need matter more?

And what about developers who are just starting out?

Are they entering an industry where the opportunities to build are greater than ever, or one where it is becoming harder to prove their value?

I am not asking these questions to scare anyone or suggest that software development has no future. I am genuinely interested in understanding how others see things.

Perhaps there are opportunities we are not considering. Perhaps the products that survive will be those that offer more than features. Or perhaps we need to rethink how we build, compete, and create value.

So, I would love to hear your honest thoughts:

1. What gives a software product longevity when someone else can build a similar alternative and release it for free?
2. How can founders protect the value of a product when AI makes competition easier?
3. What will make developers valuable in this new environment, whether experienced or just starting?
4. Are we looking at a future where building software becomes easier, but building a sustainable software business becomes harder?

I am interested in different perspectives, not just reassurance that developers will always be needed.

What do you think the future actually looks like?