The Slow Formation of Durable Software

This article argues that durable software is rarely the product of instant AI-driven prompting; instead, it emerges from years of iterative thinking, collaboration, and a shared understanding of the problem to be solved. For CIOs and technology leaders, the strategic implication is that while AI can accelerate coding, it cannot replace the front-end work of product discovery, architecture, and cross-functional alignment—capabilities that are essential for building software platforms that last and can scale across large user bases. IT organizations should view AI as an amplifier of execution, not a substitute for the deliberate processes that create maintainable, extensible, and trustworthy systems.