External signal·Stratechery·Feb 11, 2026·Ben Thompson
An Interview with Benedict Evans About AI and Software
Summary
Ben Thompson interviews analyst Benedict Evans on how large language models are reshaping software and the corporation. The discussion frames a 'crisis facing software': if LLMs can generate applications on demand, the value of packaged software and the moats around incumbent vendors come into question. Evans examines the difficulty of defining the LLM paradigm, what it means for OpenAI and other model providers, and how the structure of firms may shift as AI absorbs tasks once handled by software products and the people who operate them. The conversation is exploratory rather than predictive, weighing competing scenarios over firm forecasts.
Predictions for the future of work
Evans argues the open question is whether LLMs become a new platform layer that erodes the packaged-software business model or remain a feature inside existing products. For work, the implication is that roles built around operating and configuring software tools could be compressed as AI handles more of that work directly, while the boundary of the firm shifts toward what AI cannot yet do. The interview avoids a fixed timeframe, treating the paradigm as still unsettled and adoption as uneven across companies.
Originally published by Stratechery · Feb 11, 2026
Read the original at Stratechery