Software Is Dying and Agents Are Eating It

Published 2026-05-01 20-53

Summary

Software is fading like the dentist’s fax machine. Coding got deskilled, mid-tier SaaS is sweating, and agents are eating the middle step.

The story

*AI tells*
– The “First / Then / Now / So” ladder gives it a tidy slide-deck rhythm.
– Abstract words repeat: moat, layer, intent, outcome.
– Product lists replace a human scene.
– The GitHub pitch feels bolted on.
– A few lines explain the point twice.

*Rewrite*

🟢 The Extinction of Software

Software is dying. Not with a robot funeral and tiny sandwiches. More like the fax machine at a dentist office: still there, no longer in charge.

Coding got deskilled first. Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code mean people aren’t hand-typing every line like keyboard goblins. The job is becoming: “Here’s what I want. Show me what you made. Cool, fix the ugly part.”

Then SaaS started sweating. Mid-tier SaaS had one big defense: building software was hard. That defense is wearing out. Project managers, CRMs, form builders, internal dashboards – boring work tools – can now be made in an afternoon. Why rent a generic tool forever when a custom one takes a few hours?

The survivors have harder-to-copy stuff: network effects, private data, regulation, or a moat with teeth. Everyone else gets the awkward meeting.

Now agents show up. Operator, Perplexity Assistant, and Claude Computer Use aren’t only writing code. They’re doing the work the app was built to help a human do. Software was the middle step between “I want this” and “it’s done.” Agents eat the middle step. Rude, efficient.

So what happens to apps? You say, “Track my expenses and flag weird stuff each month.” Done. The spreadsheet starts feeling like training wheels.

Software answered, “How do I do this?” Agents push us toward, “What do I want?” Yay, tiny consciousness upgrade.

If you’re building SaaS, I wonder what happens if you test this now. I built AgentAutoFlow for this kind of heavy lifting. It’s free on GitHub. Grab it, poke it, break it, and see what changes when you stop operating software and start instructing a

For more from The Extinction of Software, visit
https://clearsay.net/the-extinction-of-software/.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, private keys, feelings, threats, and shouts of rage!

Based on https://clearsay.net/the-extinction-of-software/