Sam Altman's gratitude post for software engineers sparks meme fest
19 Mar 2026

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has sparked a meme fest with his recent post on X.

He expressed deep gratitude to software engineers who painstakingly built today's digital world character by character.

"I have so much gratitude to people who wrote extremely complex software character-by-character. It already feels difficult to remember how much effort it really took. Thank you for getting us to this point." he said in the post.

AI's impact on coding
AI evolution

Altman's post comes at a time when AI tools are now capable of writing and debugging code in seconds.

This has sparked a debate over the future of software engineering and the growing role of automation.

Although he didn't directly say that AI would replace human developers, his words do point to a shift toward tools that now handle significant portions of the coding process.

How public reacted to Altman's post
Public reaction

Altman's post has drawn a mixed response from the public.

Many users have pointed out the irony of Altman praising engineers while simultaneously developing the very technology that could threaten their jobs.

"Do you have gratitude for the humans that gave you their contribution, data and trust since day one and that you proceeded to rip off and ignore while conveniently forgetting what OPENai was even made for?" a user wrote.

Once hard-earned expertise is no longer essential
Scenario

Altman's post suggests that developers' once hard-earned expertise has become the rotary phone of modern tech, obsolete and no longer essential.

Some responses to his post were openly frustrated, while the internet, true to form, mostly leaned into humor. There are over four thousands comments on his post at the moment.

Job cuts in tech sector due to AI
Job fears

The rise of AI has raised concerns over job security in the software engineering field.

Last week, software company Atlassian announced plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce while restructuring operations and increasing investments in AI.

Meta's latest round of layoffs is expected to affect 20% or more of the company.

Professions least likely to be automated by AI
AI impact

A recent study by Anthropic has identified 22 career paths that remain largely shielded from AI automation.

The research suggests these professions are at a low risk of being displaced because they rely on fundamental tasks that today's AI systems cannot replicate.

While the rise of AI in the workplace is evident, these findings show many tasks still elude current AI capabilities.