About whether AI can cheaply build full software products like CRM or ERP systems.
Has this happened?
Yes 25 (24%)Not sure 32 (31%)No 46 (45%)
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Hacker News has set AI a lot of challenges over the years. Which ones has it met?
About whether AI can cheaply build full software products like CRM or ERP systems.
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Ok, well, rereading TFA again, it does seem to say that, but I took it as hyperbole. I'm not familiar with any of even the staunchest GenAI visionaries claiming:
Why buy a CRM solution or a ERM system when “AI” can generate one for you in hours or even minutes?
Obviously that's a strawman argument that shouldn't be taken at face-value. AI-generated software is rapidly improving, but it will take some time until it can do that sort of work without human intervention. Extrapolating from METR's chart[0], we should expect a SotA AI to one-shot a modern commercial CRM in around the early 2030s. It's then up to anyone here to decide if that's something we should actively prepare for already (I personally think we should).
[0] https://metr.org/blog/2025-03-19-measuring-ai-ability-to-com...