What took us two decades — learning frameworks, debugging builds, arguing about folder structure — took our kids… 20 prompts.

That line pretty much says it all.
At Devoxx Belgium 2025, Bart and I shared a story that’s equal parts humbling, hilarious, and thought-provoking: how our 11- and 12-year-old sons built fully-playable games with no coding experience — just by talking to agentic platforms.

No IDEs.
No syntax errors.
Just intent, translated by a growing ecosystem of AI agents.

The Experiment

We gave our kids a challenge:

Make a game. Any game. But no coding — just describe what you want.

They ended up creating levels, enemies, sounds, score systems… even Easter eggs. All through natural language.
Meanwhile, we — two seasoned architects— watched decades of expertise get casually leapfrogged by curiosity and prompts.

The Contrast

While we were still structuring our src/ folder, they were already play-testing their boss fight.
The gap wasn’t about skill — it was about friction.

AI-assisted creation tools have removed almost every barrier between imagination and implementation.
That’s exhilarating… and mildly terrifying for anyone who grew up debugging by candlelight in Eclipse.

The Big Questions

In the talk, we explored a few uncomfortable — yet exciting — questions:

• Are we witnessing the end of traditional programming?
• Are we still relevant as architects, developers, and engineers?
• What roles and skills matter when intent becomes the new code?
• How do we evolve — from builders to orchestrators?

What It Means

This isn’t a farewell to programming — it’s a call to redefine our craft.
The next generation doesn’t see “code” — they see outcomes.
Our job now? To shape the ecosystems, ethics, and patterns that guide these agents.
To design with intent, trust, and creativity at the center.

Watch the Talk

The full session is now live on YouTube:
Outcoded by Our Kids – Devoxx Belgium 2025

If you’re a parent, developer, or architect wondering what the next decade of software creation looks like — this one’s for you.
It’ll make you laugh, question your IDE, and maybe… hand the keyboard to your kid.

“They didn’t outsmart us. They just skipped the parts we assumed were necessary.”
— Jan & Bart