Writing software is not a "rote task", nor will it ever be such. Software is very "specialist".
Sorry, but writing a compiler or even accounting software is fairly rote, in the sense that someone with technical knowledge but little business knowledge can follow a spec and write the code. The American technical workers who will keep their jobs in the future will combine business and technical knowledge, especially as it pertains to the particular culture of American business. I was laid off a year ago and was out of work for eight months, and when I was re-hired it wasn't because of any specific technical skills but because of my specific business knowledge that I acquired in my last job.