Sam Altman thanks coders who build software from scratch, memes follow

In short: Sam Altman publicly thanked developers who build software from scratch, and the post quickly turned into a meme and joke thread online.

What happened

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, posted a message praising software developers who create complex systems “from scratch,” meaning they write the code themselves instead of starting from an existing template.

He said this kind of work is easy to overlook, even though it is what many important tech products run on. You can think of it like building roads and bridges that everyone uses, but few people stop to thank the construction crew.

Altman highlighted what goes into building large software projects. That includes planning how the parts fit together, deciding how information is stored, writing the features people use, and making sure the system is secure and dependable. He also noted that big projects usually involve many roles, including people working on the behind-the-scenes systems, the screens and buttons users see, security, and the computers and networks that keep everything running.

The message spread widely on X, which used to be called Twitter. According to TechCrunch, the praise also triggered a wave of humorous, “salty” replies and memes, a common way online communities react when a serious topic hits close to home.

Why it matters

More people now use AI tools that can write code, but everyday apps still depend on human developers who design and maintain the underlying systems. Altman’s post put attention back on that less visible work, and the jokes that followed show many developers feel both proud of what they build and frustrated that it often goes unnoticed.

Source: TechCrunch AI