The Observer Seat

A lot of engineers I know have never done a real pair programming session.

They became engineers in an era when code was expensive. You got hired to write it. Your value was measured in output — features shipped, lines committed, problems solved with your own two hands on the keyboard.

Now code is cheap. Writing less code is what matters.

Engineers roll their eyes at “vibe coding.” Fair enough — that’s for non-technical people making apps for themselves.

What you should be doing is different. It’s pair programming. With AI in the driver seat.

In a real pair programming session, there are two roles. The driver writes the code. The observer thinks, guides, asks questions, catches mistakes before they happen. The best sessions happen when both people know how to communicate — when the observer can articulate intent clearly and the driver can translate that into code.

With AI, the roles are set:

AI is the driver. You are the observer.

Engineers who never learned to be a good observer are in trouble. They only ever wanted to drive. They don’t know how to communicate what they want. They’ve spent years doing instead of directing. They’ve optimized for typing speed, not thinking speed.

Clear communication. The skill engineers dodged for decades. Turns out that’s exactly what AI demands.

Every pair programming session you did was practice for this. Every time you explained your intent to a colleague instead of just grabbing the keyboard, you were building the muscle that matters now.

The engineers who skipped pair programming? They’re trying to out-type the machine. Good luck with that.

Product engineers, software writers, system architects — these are the titles that will be in demand. People who think before they build. People who communicate intent, context, constraints. People who know that the hard part was never the typing.

CRUD monkeys who just churn out code? That era is almost over.

If you want to stay relevant, stop fighting for the driver seat. Learn to be a great observer. Learn to talk to your AI partner the same way you’d talk to a sharp colleague.

Because the engineers who can’t communicate well with humans? They can’t communicate well with AI either.

P.S. If you’re an engineer at Uscreen, you already know this. We’ve been practicing.