Show HN: Who Captures the AI Efficiency Gains in Software Outsourcing?

#1

Post by dimitarbak » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 8:43 AM UTC

For years, outsourcing contracts have been governed by a simple assumption: engineering effort roughly scales with people and time.

AI breaks that assumption.

Show HN: Who Captures the AI Efficiency Gains in Software Outsourcing?
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Re: Show HN: Who Captures the AI Efficiency Gains in Software Outsourcing?

#2

Post by vga42 » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 8:46 AM UTC

I think software outsourcing will die with AI, since there's less and less reason to not just do everything in-house.

So the companies themselves that used to outsource before will capture the gains.

Re: Show HN: Who Captures the AI Efficiency Gains in Software Outsourcing?

#3

Post by dimitarbak » Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 8:56 AM UTC

vga42 wrote: post #2

I think software outsourcing will die with AI, since there's less and less reason to not just do everything in-house. So the companies themselves that used to outsource before will capture the gains.

That assumes that outsourcing was all about coding/typing/manual work. I subscribe to the knowledge-centric perspective on software development, treating knowledge as the fuel that drives the software development engine.

Central to this perspective is the concept of the 'knowledge gap' - the difference between what a developer knows and what they need to know to effectively complete tasks.

Thus, outsourcing is not about manual work but about buying knowledge from vendors.