At KubeCon North America 2025, GitLab’s Emilio Salvador outlined how developers are shifting from individual coders to leaders of hybrid human–AI teams. He envisions developers evolving into “cognitive architects,” responsible for breaking down large, complex problems and distributing work across both AI agents and humans. Complementing this is the emerging role of the “AI guardian,” reflecting growing skepticism around AI-generated code. Even as AI produces more code, humans remain accountable for reviewing quality, security, and compliance.

Salvador also described GitLab’s “AI paradox”: developers may code faster with AI, but overall productivity stalls because testing, security, and compliance processes haven’t kept pace. To fix this, he argues organizations must apply AI across the entire development lifecycle, not just in coding. GitLab’s Duo Agent Platform aims to support that end-to-end transformation.

Looking ahead, Salvador predicts the rise of a proactive “meta agent” that functions like a full team member. Still, he warns that enterprise adoption remains slow and advises organizations to start small, build skills, and scale gradually.

Learn more from The New Stack about the evolving role of "cognitive architects":

The Engineer in the AI Age: The Orchestrator and Architect

The New Role of Enterprise Architecture in the AI Era

The Architect’s Guide to Understanding Agentic AI

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