Insight
Elizabeth Orji
Web Development and Why the Future Still Needs Humans
Elizabeth Orji laughs when I mention the old myth of the “web god”, the all-powerful developer who alone understood how the internet worked. “That era is over,” she says. “Now, anyone can build a website in a few hours.”
We are sitting in a classroom at SAE Institue London, where Orji has just finished leading a Gen AI coding workshop. Around us, students are still buzzing from watching fully functioning web applications come to life in real time. What once took months of coding now happens in a single afternoon. And yet, for Orji, this does not signal the end of web development. It marks its most exciting evolution.
“AI has improved the way we work as web developers,” she says. “It has pushed us into critical thinking and creativity in a way we didn’t have before.”
From ‘Web Gods’ to Collaborative Creation
For years, web development belonged to a small group of specialists. Clients depended entirely on them. The knowledge gap was vast. Today, with the rise of AI tools and what Orji calls “vibe coding”, that balance of power has shifted.
“That gap is closing fast,” she says. “Now the customer can sit beside you and build with you.”
Rather than replacing developers, AI has forced them to adapt, away from repetitive tasks and towards design thinking, systems architecture and problem solving. Orji sees this not as a threat, but as a creative liberation.
“We’re no longer just writing code,” she says. “We’re designing intelligence.”
Speed That Saves Lives
In conversations around AI, the focus often drifts towards convenience. For Orji, the stakes are far higher. In healthcare and finance especially, speed is not a luxury. It is life-changing.
“People are dying somewhere,” she says, matter-of-factly. “With AI, we can get solutions built very fast.”
Applications that once took months can now be deployed in weeks or even days. In financial systems, this also means stronger, faster responses to cybercrime. The acceleration of development, she argues, has transformed what is possible in real-world problem solving.
Has AI Taken Our Jobs?
The fear is familiar, that AI will automate humans out of relevance. Orji is pragmatic.
“It has taken some jobs away,” she says. “But it has also introduced many new ones. It’s a balanced system.”
Since 2022, she has watched entirely new roles emerge, hybrid careers that sit between developer, designer and AI specialist. The future workforce, she believes, will not be defined by how well you memorise code, but by how well you understand, guide and correct intelligent systems.
The Age of the AI Curator
Orji believes the next generation of developers will become curators and architects rather than traditional coders. They will shape frameworks, manage intelligent tools and design how humans interact with machines.
“That’s beautiful,” she says. “The possibilities are endless.”
It is a radical reimagining of what a “developer” is, and one that places creativity and ethics at its centre.
Teaching the Algorithm Generation
That ethos was evident in her recent workshop at SAE. Many of the students arrived believing they already understood AI. What surprised Orji was not their confidence, but how quickly their expectations were surpassed.
Together, they built a financial AI web application from scratch. They learned how to structure a “master prompt” capable of generating complex systems. They dissected and rebuilt AI-powered websites in real time.
“What amazed me most,” she says, “was how fast they learned. These weren’t theory projects. They built real products they can use in the real world.”
It is precisely this balance between technical foundations and emerging technology that Orji believes formal study still provides, the time, structure and support for students to move from experimentation to real capability.
Being the Only Black Woman in the Room
Orji’s path into tech was not without isolation. She recalls being the only Black woman in a class of 36 students while studying in London. Many women, she says, are deterred by the myth that tech is too difficult, too unforgiving, too male.
“This is a very fun ride,” she says. “It’s a journey, and one we absolutely belong in.”
She speaks openly about the value women bring to the industry, emotional intelligence, balance, resilience and perspective. “The industry still needs that,” she adds.
What Employers Really Want Now
The shopping list for today’s tech employers has changed dramatically. Orji says three skills now define employability:
- The ability to debug AI-generated code.
- Strong cybersecurity awareness.
- Creative problem-solving.
“These three qualities,” she says, “will determine how far you go.”
Why Classrooms Still Matter
Despite the explosion of online tutorials, Orji is firm about the value of formal education. “You can’t compare sitting in a classroom with jumping between YouTube and Netflix,” she says.
At SAE, students develop their technical foundations before leaning on AI. They work through structured projects, collaborate, receive feedback and learn how to think like developers rather than simply copying solutions. It is this grounding, Orji believes, that allows students to use new tools responsibly and creatively.
A Journey, Not a Shortcut
For those starting out in web development, Orji’s advice is simple, patience.
“Your code will break. Something as small as a button can take days. That’s normal,” she says. “It’s a journey, not a destination.”
It is a philosophy that runs through every part of her work, from the way she teaches, to how she imagines the future of the industry. In a world racing towards automation, Orji remains quietly insistent on one thing, the future of web development still belongs to people.
Study Web Development at SAE
If Elizabeth Orji’s work has sparked your interest in building for the future of the web, SAE’s Web Development course offers a structured, hands-on route into the industry. From mastering coding fundamentals to working creatively and critically with AI, students gain the skills needed for today’s digital careers.
