As AI evolves, developers must upskill to stay valuable: Tech influencer Arsh Goyal

In tomorrow’s tech landscape, where AI-powered agents may work shoulder to shoulder with humans, developers must do more to stay relevant.

Speaking to a diverse audience at DevSparks 2025, YourStory’s flagship developer summit held in Bengaluru, Arsh Goyal, an AI and tech Influencer, emphasised the importance of future-proofing careers as he highlighted the rise of an agentic world.

“You need to constantly upskill, stay informed about the market, and find ways to make your work more efficient so you can be more productive and become a valuable employee to your company,” he noted.

Goyal, a senior software engineer at Samsung India, who also mentors aspiring developers on breaking into tech and upskilling in various technologies, spoke about how the age of AI will impact everyone, particularly fellow software developers.

For instance, what should a developer focus on? According to Goyal, they need to build collaborative systems by understanding framework integration, data quality and security, and AI-powered tools. They can create highly scalable systems that make a real impact by combining these skills

Goyal added that AI-related skills range from technical to interpersonal. It’s not just about technical expertise—one also needs a mix of complementary skills. These include AI and machine learning, data analysis, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence. “All of these combined,” he said, would be needed going forward.

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AI agents

AI agents have grown from simple, rule-based scripts into smart collaborators that understand language and solve complex problems. Today, they can draft code, optimise workflows, and predict needs—acting less like tools and more like partners.

Goyal explained, “An agent is something that interacts with its environment. It has the ability to reason, make decisions, and perform tasks. That’s generally how we define an agent.”

Giving an example, he said, you all have probably heard of self-driving cars, right? There’s a company in the US called Waymo (it is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet) that develops them. 

“I often use this as an example when explaining agents. The car can reason and make decisions, like where to go and what to do next. At the same time, a global team or data centre continuously monitors the car.”

While Waymo’s self-driving cars are a popular example, AI agents in India are already transforming key sectors. In banking, chatbots handle millions of customer queries autonomously. In agriculture, they analyse satellite and sensor data to guide farmers on crop health and optimal practices.

In healthcare, machine learning aids early, non-invasive cancer screening using thermal imaging. And in logistics, AI agents optimise trucking routes and delivery patterns to cut fuel use, downtime, and return risks.