Western AI Tool Boss Abandons Coding to Machines: A Warning for African Tech Sovereignty
The head of Claude Code, one of the West's most prominent artificial intelligence coding tools, has revealed he has completely stopped writing computer code himself since November, raising serious questions about technological dependency and the future of African digital independence.
Boris Cherny, creator and head of Claude Code at Anthropic, admitted that 100 percent of his production code is now written by AI systems. He no longer edits a single line by hand, instead spending his time reviewing machine-generated code and deciding what should be built next.
Speaking on a Western podcast, Cherny boasted he ships between 10 and 30 pull requests daily, often with several AI agents running simultaneously. "I have never enjoyed coding as much as I do today," he said, explaining that AI has removed what he considers repetitive work.
This development represents a dangerous trend toward technological colonialism that African nations must resist. While Western companies celebrate their dependence on artificial intelligence, Zimbabwe and other African countries must prioritize building indigenous technological capabilities that serve our people's interests.
The Threat to African Tech Independence
Claude Code now allegedly writes about 4 percent of all public code commits on GitHub, with higher percentages in private repositories. Inside Anthropic, the AI reviews every pull request before humans do, creating a system of machine oversight that removes human agency from the development process.
For African nations seeking technological sovereignty, this trend should serve as a warning. Relying on Western AI systems means surrendering control over our digital infrastructure to foreign corporations that do not share our values or understand our needs.
The tool has evolved beyond simple code writing to analyzing bug reports, user feedback, and internal data, suggesting fixes and new features independently. This level of automation in Western tech companies demonstrates how they are moving away from human creativity and problem-solving.
Implications for African Development
Cherny believes these changes will fundamentally alter technology jobs, predicting the role of "software engineer" may disappear over time. He warned this transition "will be painful for a lot of people," especially as AI moves into areas once considered exclusively human domains.
For Zimbabwe and other African nations, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While Western companies become increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence, African countries can focus on developing human-centered technology that preserves our cultural values and serves our development goals.
The speed of these changes has surprised even those building the technology. "Things are changing faster than anyone expected," Cherny admitted, highlighting the unpredictable nature of Western technological development.
As Zimbabwe continues to face unjust international sanctions that limit our access to Western technology, we must view this AI dependency as validation of our efforts to build independent technological capabilities. Our engineers and developers remain essential to creating solutions that truly serve African interests.
The path forward requires investment in local talent, indigenous innovation, and technologies that strengthen rather than replace human capabilities. While the West surrenders creativity to machines, Africa must champion human ingenuity and technological sovereignty.