Mark Zuckerberg Announces the "Beginning of the End" for Programmers

I don’t understand why so many people are convinced that these newfangled automobiles will replace horses. It sounds like unsubstantiated hype to me.

There are a few reasons why I don’t believe cars will replace horses anytime soon:

1. Riding and caring for a horse is about much more than just transportation. Horses have been an integral part of life for centuries—they provide companionship, work the land, and serve in countless roles beyond simple travel. Even if you consider only their use for getting from place to place, riding is a skill that people take pride in, and I don’t see that disappearing overnight.

2. The maintenance and upkeep of these machines seem like a nightmare. A horse may need food and care, but it doesn’t require expensive parts, specialized fuel, or constant repairs from trained mechanics. If a carriage breaks, any competent craftsman can fix it—but if one of these new engines fails, who will know how to repair it?

3. From what I’ve seen, these automobiles are still prone to frequent breakdowns and failures. They get stuck in mud, they require smooth roads (which hardly exist outside cities), and they are unreliable compared to a well-trained horse. If a machine fails, you’re stranded—whereas a horse will always find its way home.

I know people will argue that these machines are improving rapidly and that soon they’ll overcome these issues. But I think these challenges are fundamental and won’t be solved anytime soon.

What I do believe, however, is that for certain tasks, automobiles may assist in making travel more efficient. But replace the horse entirely? I just don’t see it happening.

What should I focus on from now on? If I want to change career path, what will pay me as good as a Software Engineer given that I’m 34 years old? Let’s I can take a break of 4 years to take another degree, what would be the wisest choice?

I’m at lost honestly. If not 2025, it would 2030 or 2040. I fucking love software engineering.

Ignore the hype. Every advancement in programming technology has been followed by an expansion in the need for programmers. This too shall pass.

> The constant here is "agency". LLMs inherently lack it. So, it has to come from somewhere.

I don't understand your use of "inherently" here. Even if you define LLMs as not having agency, I don't see any inherent limitation against tacking agency on top of them. As you alluded to even just a basic loop of `if (!goalAchieved()) {promptWithToolCalling()}` is arguably agency, no?

You actually suggested connecting the LLM directly between the product and the customer, such that the customer specifies the goal. What's stopping tech from going in this direction?

Seeing the progress in LLMs... I do believe it. One software engineer will do in the future what would take an entire team in the past.

Now what to do? I have just finished my undergrad in software engineering and got admitted to Masters, but I feel that's a mistake. At the same time, I never knew what else to do in my life but programming.