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How to Automate Software Engineering

mechanize.work

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Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#31

Post by hnthrow90348765 »

delusional wrote: post #21
hnthrow90348765 wrote: post #18

Alright, this is it, this is the AI peak. >Today we’re announcing Mechanize, a startup focused on developing virtual work environments, benchmarks, and training data that will enable the full automation of the economy. >Compensation >$200K – $475K • 1% – 2% Just imagine for a moment you are a software engineer capable of doing what they say, rivaling the raw intellectual capabilities of every mathematician, economist…

> And there's still someone who says to you: "best I can do is only 1% - 2%" 1% of the global economy seems fine to me. If you actually believe in their vision, money is going to be worthless anyway.

"I automated the entire world and my boss named himself God Emperor of the Universe for having the idea. And he still hasn't changed my title from Product Software Engineer. He cancelled our daily standup for some reason too."

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#32

Post by IX-103 »

delusional wrote: post #21
hnthrow90348765 wrote: post #18

Alright, this is it, this is the AI peak. >Today we’re announcing Mechanize, a startup focused on developing virtual work environments, benchmarks, and training data that will enable the full automation of the economy. >Compensation >$200K – $475K • 1% – 2% Just imagine for a moment you are a software engineer capable of doing what they say, rivaling the raw intellectual capabilities of every mathematician, economist…

> And there's still someone who says to you: "best I can do is only 1% - 2%" 1% of the global economy seems fine to me. If you actually believe in their vision, money is going to be worthless anyway.

Isn't it the other way around? The productivity gains would increase overall wealth so you would get more for your money, meaning money would actually be worth more.

Or do you mean it in the sense that everyone would already have everything they could ever want so the net utility of additional money would be 0?

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#34

Post by gerdesj »

dsjoerg wrote: post #29
gerdesj wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm quite handy at what I do. You will not replace me with AI. Today I set up a remote network with a couple of switches, a router and the rest. From the outside. The customer had already got the router to the internet (good skills) and a LAN. I had a router (pfSense) with six 2.5 GB connections. I turned it into a 10 VLAN effort with access and trunks and so on, ports at layer 2, without disconnecting myself. It's q…

> You will not replace me with AI Ever? Forever is a long time. Or do you mean with today's AI, assuming no improvements are made?

Go on, have a go yourself doing a task like that.

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#35

Post by gerdesj »

gerdesj wrote: post #34
dsjoerg wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You will not replace me with AI Ever? Forever is a long time. Or do you mean with today's AI, assuming no improvements are made?

Go on, have a go yourself doing a task like that.

I never said never.

Not now

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#36

Post by IX-103 »

martin-t wrote: post #20
hnthrow90348765 wrote: post #18

Alright, this is it, this is the AI peak. >Today we’re announcing Mechanize, a startup focused on developing virtual work environments, benchmarks, and training data that will enable the full automation of the economy. >Compensation >$200K – $475K • 1% – 2% Just imagine for a moment you are a software engineer capable of doing what they say, rivaling the raw intellectual capabilities of every mathematician, economist…

One of the dumbest things a smart person can do is work for an AI company. At best they don't believe actual AI will be created and they are helping a scam. At worst, they are actively working to make their own job redundant and when they're fired, they will own nothing of what they built. All the money from their work will go to the owners who fired them.

You must live on some fascist oligarchy.

In a well functioning society improvements in economic efficiency and productivity improve the standard of living if everyone in that society. Thus if you innovate yourself out of a job you'd still benefit and would have access to any training needed for your next job.

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#37

Post by martin-t »

dsjoerg wrote: post #30
martin-t wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the dumbest things a smart person can do is work for an AI company. At best they don't believe actual AI will be created and they are helping a scam. At worst, they are actively working to make their own job redundant and when they're fired, they will own nothing of what they built. All the money from their work will go to the owners who fired them.

> At worst, they are actively working to make their own job redundant and when they're fired, they will own nothing of what they built. All the money from their work will go to the owners who fired them. Except that's the case with literally every meaningful information-work job. Your goal is to obsolete yourself. If you do it well then your success becomes your calling card for your next job. Your career is a series…

1) You can and should program yourself out of a _task_, not a _job_. How many companies have a one.time need for a programmer?

2) Even if your claim was correct, then you'd amass experience on one job (task) that you could then leverage on the next job (task). If AI became reality, all that would become irrelevant. Your middle-class self would quickly realize you're only worth as much as your lower class neighbors who swing a shovel or flip burgers for a living, all the while your upper class bosses become richer thanks to your work.

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#38

Post by martin-t »

IX-103 wrote: post #36
martin-t wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the dumbest things a smart person can do is work for an AI company. At best they don't believe actual AI will be created and they are helping a scam. At worst, they are actively working to make their own job redundant and when they're fired, they will own nothing of what they built. All the money from their work will go to the owners who fired them.

You must live on some fascist oligarchy. In a well functioning society improvements in economic efficiency and productivity improve the standard of living if everyone in that society. Thus if you innovate yourself out of a job you'd still benefit and would have access to any training needed for your next job.

> You must live on some fascist oligarchy.

Sadly, I am becoming increasingly convinced I do. [1]

You're falling for one simple trap. Yes, even if things are (mostly) improving for everyone, they are improving massively faster for those already rich.

On top of that, I am not even sure they are improving. Some people are paying a third or even a half of their salary just to have a place to live. I even heard the situation in some cities is that people are struggling to feed their kids and keep the heating on.

[1]: https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#39

Post by gcanyon »

Amekedl wrote: post #25
gcanyon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 30 years That's...ridiculous. I'm a product manager, and AI is already chipping away at my job. Two months ago I said to one of my devs, "Our dashboard here looks very bland. What if we had a more visual display of the pipeline statuses across the top of the screen?" He said he thought that was a good idea, and I went to lunch. I came back and started sketching up some ideas for how to lay out the statuses. I had b…

You occasionally do glimpse behind the curtains; depending on what you actually develop it's feasible and quick to prompt it, but attempting to go further than that across multiple components collapses so drastically that I cannot help but feel that all ai stuff is entirely incapable of replicating the real thing at the moment.

> I cannot help but feel that all ai stuff is entirely incapable of replicating the real thing

But that's what they were saying about a simple paragraph of coherent writing five years ago. And what they were saying about structured output three years ago. And now I can ask for a coherent breakdown of the functionality that might be required for a ticket tracking system, with a list of use cases and screens to support them, and user personas, and expect that the result will be a little generic, but coherent. I can give Claude a picture of a UI and ask for suggestions for improvement, and half the ideas will be interesting.

Re: How to Automate Software Engineering

#40

Post by MangoToupe »

antithesizer wrote: post #16
MangoToupe wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Software ate the world a very long time ago, so people being allergic to code while trying to run a business is only sounding more and more absurd as time marches on. I don't agree with this at all. Part of the pitch of code is packing really nasty semantics into a single interface. This inherently reflects in the services we provide to clients. This interface should naturally correspond to UI, if that's what you o…

If your car can't be owned and operated by someone with zero knowledge of how cars work you've failed. And yet to this day every car owner is aware that their lack of any such knowledge would/does cost them dearly at the mechanic and at the dealership too. And of course mechanics and car salesmen love to see such clients coming their way.

Yea, I mostly agree with this. Consumers tend to have some sort of understanding of the car market. If you can't cater to them, you've failed.

Correspondingly, it's very easy to imagine someone disgruntled for having to deal with code (i imagine hotwiring a car in the context you provided). People know their lane; you can't force them to change it.

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