# The valuable part of building software is moving up a level

By Ben Paget · 10 Oct 2026 · https://electricsheep.id/thoughts/software-maker/

> DHH calls it being a software maker. With AI agents writing more code, the valuable work moves up a level: the problem, the system design and the decisions.

Few people have had as much influence on how we build software over the past 25 years as DHH, and it’s great to see that same appetite for rethinking the status quo 🚀

The biggest shift on my side hasn’t been “AI writes all the code now.” It’s been realizing that the valuable part of building software is moving up a level.

For me, what matters most now is: Understanding the problem. Designing the system. Making good product and technical decisions. Knowing what to delegate, what to inspect, what to question, and when to steer the agents when you realize they are confidently heading in the wrong direction 🤖

I’ve spent years getting better at writing code. More recently, I’ve been learning how much more I can build, when code itself stops being the bottleneck.

That requires a different skill set; and, in some ways, a broader one.

“Software maker” is actually a pretty darn good way of putting it!

P.S. If this topic resonates, I’d also recommend [DHH’s recent conversation with Lex Fridman](https://go.electricsheep.id/dhh-lex-fridman) on the future of programming, AI, agentic engineering and Linux.

The [original DHH post I refer to](https://go.electricsheep.id/dhh-post), with the [Rails World 2026 Opening Keynote](https://go.electricsheep.id/rails-world-keynote).