“My goal is to eliminate every line of C and C++ from Microsoft by 2030” — Microsoft bets on AI to finally modernize Windows

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Microsoft is planning a major update to its software, replacing code written in C and C++ with millions of new lines. This update will use a blend of artificial intelligence, automated processes, and contributions from human programmers to improve large parts of Windows and other Microsoft products.

Galen Hunt, an engineer at Microsoft, announced they’re hiring a Principal Software Engineer (IC5). This person will help rewrite some of Microsoft’s existing systems, currently built with C and C++, using the Rust programming language.

Rust is a new programming language created to build software that runs quickly and works consistently. It’s different from older languages like C and C++ because it has features that automatically help avoid typical errors.

These features help programmers prevent errors that could cause programs to fail, create security vulnerabilities, or act strangely. Although Rust has a learning curve, it ultimately leads to more reliable and secure software.

Hunt shared the following on LinkedIn about the new role:

We aim to completely replace C and C++ code within Microsoft by 2030. We’re doing this by using a combination of artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms to rewrite our largest and most complex codebases. Our ambitious target is for a single engineer to be able to update a million lines of code in just one month. To achieve this, we’ve developed a powerful system that can analyze and process code efficiently. This system creates a detailed map of our code, allowing AI-powered tools, guided by algorithms, to make large-scale changes. This core technology is already being used to improve our understanding of code and is operating effectively at a large scale.

Now that Windows 11 has been available for several years, Microsoft finally offering a more unified dark mode makes a 2030 goal of completely removing C and C++ code from its systems, as proposed by Hunt, seem quite challenging. While achieving this may be difficult, advances in artificial intelligence could potentially accelerate the process. It’s likely that switching to the Rust programming language is a more pressing concern for Microsoft than simply darkening the Run prompt window.

For several years, Microsoft has been gradually incorporating Rust into its code base. As noted by Thurrott.com, they began rewriting portions of the Windows Kernel in Rust in 2023. Interestingly, even before the widespread public interest in AI, Microsoft was already exploring using large language models to convert code written in C and C++ into Rust.

Last year, David Weston, a Microsoft executive in charge of Enterprise and OS Security, discussed Microsoft’s move to using the Rust programming language. A blog post on the Azure website from 2023, written by Jeffrey Cooperstein, further detailed the advantages of this transition.

For years, C and C++ have been prone to memory-related bugs that are hard to prevent. While languages like C# and Java are better at avoiding these issues, they aren’t always an option. That’s why we’re investing in Rust as a replacement for C and C++. Rust is a new language that aims to match the speed of C and C++ but with built-in protections against memory and threading errors. We can’t switch everything to Rust immediately, but we’ve already started using it in key parts of Azure, and we plan to use it much more in the future.

Cooperstein emphasized that Microsoft is planning a significant, multi-year investment in adopting the Rust programming language.

Hunt is hiring for a position that will help update Microsoft’s software code. This work is part of the Future of Scalable Software Engineering team within the CoreAI organization at Microsoft.

Is Rust better than C and C++ when it comes to coding?

Rust offers improvements over C and C++ in several key areas. It’s designed to be safer and more secure, and many developers find it simpler to use.

I’ve noticed that because Rust is a relatively new language compared to C or C++, developers often need to build things from scratch. Sometimes older code in those other languages can become messy and hard to follow – what people call ‘spaghetti code.’ In those cases, rewriting it in Rust, if done well, can be a real step forward.

C++ has a large ecosystem, so shifting to Rust can require more work.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on Microsoft potentially using AI to rewrite a large portion of its code. Share your opinions in the comments below!

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2025-12-23 18:40