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Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

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Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#31

Post by gmreads »

578_Observer wrote: post #8

Writing from rural Japan. You are witnessing the "Hyper-inflation of Syntax." If you measure your worth by LOC (Lines of Code), you are right to be afraid. AI has driven the cost of syntax to near zero. But here is what I see in my work with old Japanese manufacturers (Shinise): When "Crafting" becomes cheap, "Responsibility" becomes the premium asset. AI can write 15k lines of code, but it cannot take *Liability* fo…

Although I do understand the analogy being made here. But I suspect OP much like myself is hoping for concrete suggestions. To my mind argument is Software Jobs will shrink and only the very elites will be valuable aka the recent Meta's 10s of millions of offers. But for the rest of average Joes it will be harsh job market or even non existent. So what can the average programmer do , concretely.

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#32

Post by gmreads »

bruce511 wrote: post #13
funnyfoobar wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the takes, but my only question would be. If everyone is doing high level stuff like architecture and design, how many of "those people" will be really needed in the long term? My intuition is telling me the size of market needing number of engineers will shrink.

Of course it will shrink! Every industry ever has shrunk as tooling got better. That said, we are a long way from "peak software". There is a lot of scope for new things, so there's room for a lot of high-level people. And of course the vast majority of current juniors won't step up at all. Just like the web site devs of the early '00s went off to be estate agents or car salesmen or whatever. Those with shallow train…

Could you elaborate more? What would those said foundations and fundamentals be ?

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#33

Post by bruce511 »

gmreads wrote: post #32
bruce511 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it will shrink! Every industry ever has shrunk as tooling got better. That said, we are a long way from "peak software". There is a lot of scope for new things, so there's room for a lot of high-level people. And of course the vast majority of current juniors won't step up at all. Just like the web site devs of the early '00s went off to be estate agents or car salesmen or whatever. Those with shallow train…

Could you elaborate more? What would those said foundations and fundamentals be ?

In a nutshell, a lot more understanding of how computers work, and how that affects software design.

From theory like Order(n), 3rd Normal Form, P versus NP, Recursion, Logic (including bit logic) etc, to practical things like exploration of language (why languages are different, why that doesn't matter), how Operating Systems actually work (and what they do), how Networks work (their strengths and weaknesses and thus impact on software design) and so on.

Obviously I can't list a 4 year syllabus[1] here, and it would be different for each college. IME colleges don't teach programming past the first couple weeks, although it is the basis for assignments and evaluation for the next 4 years. (In the way that grade school doesn't teach writing after year 1, but you write a lot in the next 10 years.)

[1] All of this can be self taught. There's plenty of text books and materials online. But basically self-taught people learn programming, not theory, and lack the "path" of a formal syllabus.

Each school will of course have a different syllabus, and some will offer selective modules as well focusing on specific areas like graphics, compilers, databases etc.

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#35

Post by ManicInventor »

What I so far have noticed, is that when people that are not software developers innovate prototypes using vibe coding, it will result in more projects that will require someone understanding how to continue developing and maintaining it.

It will be about the projects architecture and it's alignment with the will of the users. Since AI is not able to do that yet, and probably won't be there in a long time. We as programmers has to contribute with that part. It's our intuitive system thinking, and user understanding that have taken years or decades to form.

Because of this, my prediction is that in the short term, there will be an increase in the need of programming / system thinking skills

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#36

Post by 578_Observer »

gmreads wrote: post #31
578_Observer wrote: post #8

Writing from rural Japan. You are witnessing the "Hyper-inflation of Syntax." If you measure your worth by LOC (Lines of Code), you are right to be afraid. AI has driven the cost of syntax to near zero. But here is what I see in my work with old Japanese manufacturers (Shinise): When "Crafting" becomes cheap, "Responsibility" becomes the premium asset. AI can write 15k lines of code, but it cannot take *Liability* fo…

Although I do understand the analogy being made here. But I suspect OP much like myself is hoping for concrete suggestions. To my mind argument is Software Jobs will shrink and only the very elites will be valuable aka the recent Meta's 10s of millions of offers. But for the rest of average Joes it will be harsh job market or even non existent. So what can the average programmer do , concretely.

A concrete proposal? Become an Auditor, not an Author.

As AI generates billions of lines of code, the world is about to be flooded with "technical debt" and "security holes." The scarcity shifts from writing code to verifying it.

Concrete Action: Shift your skill set towards security auditing, compliance, and system architecture verification. Position yourself as the "Digital Notary" who stamps the AI's work with a human guarantee.

When a bank (like mine) lends money to a software project, we don't ask "Did an AI write this?" We ask "Which human is going to jail if this fails?"

Be the person whose name is on the insurance policy. That is a job an algorithm can never take.

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#37

Post by gmreads »

bruce511 wrote: post #33
gmreads wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you elaborate more? What would those said foundations and fundamentals be ?

In a nutshell, a lot more understanding of how computers work, and how that affects software design. From theory like Order(n), 3rd Normal Form, P versus NP, Recursion, Logic (including bit logic) etc, to practical things like exploration of language (why languages are different, why that doesn't matter), how Operating Systems actually work (and what they do), how Networks work (their strengths and weaknesses and thu…

Thank you for taking the time. This is quite standard CS degree syllabus, while quality and rigour of CS schools differ but I think any decent CS grad should know these.

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#39

Post by mattmanser »

frigg wrote: post #34

>Probably checking in about 10 to 15k lines of code per month on average. God, these claims are so ridiculous. You guys are probably doing it wrong if you write that much code.

It's so easy to measure too. 15k is 750 lines per working day.

There's no way any developer can meaningfully test, read and review 750 lines worth of changes per day.

And with AI code you've got to really go through it with a fine tooth comb, you can't scan the code. There's loads of subtle, but bad, bugs and assumptions it makes without telling you. I really want to emphasise the assumptions bit. A good example I saw recently was it assuming the sort order of a DB call should be something totally wrong, but easy to miss unless you read every line meticulously.

So either the OP is lying about how many lines their AI is pumping out, or they're checking complete AI slop untested and unreviewed into the codebase.

Re: Tell HN: I am afraid AI will take my job at some point

#40

Post by luckman212 »

578_Observer wrote: post #36
gmreads wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I do understand the analogy being made here. But I suspect OP much like myself is hoping for concrete suggestions. To my mind argument is Software Jobs will shrink and only the very elites will be valuable aka the recent Meta's 10s of millions of offers. But for the rest of average Joes it will be harsh job market or even non existent. So what can the average programmer do , concretely.

A concrete proposal? Become an Auditor, not an Author. As AI generates billions of lines of code, the world is about to be flooded with "technical debt" and "security holes." The scarcity shifts from writing code to verifying it. Concrete Action: Shift your skill set towards security auditing, compliance, and system architecture verification. Position yourself as the "Digital Notary" who stamps the AI's work with a h…

Are there many jobs where failure results in jail time? Pretty dystopian.
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