AI Can Write More Code, But Engineers Must Design Better Systems

InnovationAI Can Write More Code, But Engineers Must Design Better SystemsByVikas Mittal,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 29, 2026, 09:45am EDTVikas Mittal, Principal Architect building real-time AI platforms for retail enterprises at Walmart Global Tech. gettyIt seems like everyone is using AI to improve their enterprise operations. We're no different. Not too long ago, our business team had an urgent need ahead of a major event, but the requirements were still evolving. They knew the outcome they wanted but not yet the full shape of the final feature. Because we already had the backend APIs in place, we used AI to speed up the UI layer and quickly built a working prototype around one important use case. That speed mattered. It allowed us to put something usable in front of the business team far earlier than a traditional delivery cycle would have allowed, and it reduced a significant amount of manual work at a time when they needed relief quickly. We hosted that prototype in a shared workspace, and it gave the team something practical they could use while we continued shaping the broader solution.What stood out to me was that the prototype did more than solve an immediate need. Once users had something real in their hands, they started thinking differently. Instead of discussing requirements in the abstract, they began reacting like actual users. They could see what automation might replace in their legacy process, and that gave them much more clarity about where the final product should go.The Real Engineering Work Started After The PrototypeWhat that prototype made clear to me is that speed and readiness are not the same thing. It solved an immediate business problem, but it was never the finished answer.Like many fast prototypes, it came with real limitations. It handled the primary positive...