All signs are pointing in the same direction: AI agents will replace human coding of computer programs.
Elon Musk even predicts it will be over for human coding by the end of 2026.
This prediction seems consistent with how rapidly Anthropic, the maker of Claude Code, is letting its AI write all the lines of code for its computer programs.
If human coding becomes extinct, will copyright for computer programs too?
If AI writes all the lines of code for computer programs by the end of 2026, we soon may see the extinction of copyright for new computer programs.
I wrote about this problem back in March in a draft of my essay “Vibe Coding Authorship,” soon to be published by the UCLA L. Rev. Discourse:
I recommend that courts recognize authorship based on selection and arrangement of elements in the program’s architecture or audiovisual displays, as long as a human did so by “vibe coding” those choices and didn’t turn everything over to AI agents.
I also recommend that Congress consider whether a sui generis protection lasting up to 3 years for AI-generated computer programs is warranted. When I drafted the proposed sui generis protection, I didn’t expect it would be a proposal that Congress would have to consider any time soon. But now I do.