I'm a software developer. I've been trying to replace myself with code since I started writing code in the early 80s.
Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
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Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#92AI is an existential threat to tech companies not software engineers.
In many domains, the scope and complexity of software systems goes beyond the ability of a single software engineer to manage. A coordination layer becomes necessary when the number of engineers required goes beyond a threshold (say 5 or so). When the development effort must be coordinated over extended periods (say several months or years), mechanisms to raise capital and manage risk become necessary. These functions are why companies exist.
Consider that a massive increase in software engineer productivity will make coordination unnecessary for many kinds of software. In the market that opens up, companies with expensive executives, middle management and coordination inefficiencies will not be competitive. Smaller shops with a solo engineer or a team of less than 5 will outcompete larger players because their costs will be significantly lower. Massive one-size-fits-all products will be harder to justify when a small dev shop can quickly build or customise software for the unique requirements of a business or niche.
Before the CEOs stop needing engineers, engineers will stop needing CEOs and managers to coordinate their efforts and raise capital.
Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#93I don't know. Why are you software engineers always trying to replace everyone else?
I think this is a mischaracterization. In my decades of writing software I have seen it replace some job descriptions but typically (and especially for skilled labor tasks) the person enjoys more capability with less effort. I've seen hardware replace people. I've seen software upend industries. But I haven't yet seen software replace people.
Translators, transcriptionists, bookkeepers, CAD draft engineers, studio musicians -- that's just off the top of my head.
Hasn't eliminated those professions completely, but greatly reduced the need for them.
Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#94My view is that Ai companies saw there was a huge volume of code online and decided coding was a text generation problem and easy to replace. I don't buy it. I also don't think it'll replace writers or artists. Just the low brow, chum bucket stuff which in programming terms is a todo app or web form.
Just the low brow, chum bucket stuff I think, as software devs, we sometimes kid ourselves with respect to how many of us are working on low brow, chum bucket stuff . Most of us are not working on GPU based real time physics engines. What most of us do is, well, not rocket science. Even people working in "hard" areas are not really doing the "hard" work. Most game engine developers are using libraries, they aren't de…
While I agree we're not all implementing physics engines, there is a spectrum of complexity that is both business and technical between a todo app and a banking system.
Developer brains are still much more efficient at holding the different layers of context involved to build systems.
Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#95Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#96Software developers are basically the only thing standing between the morons and profit at any cost to society, because some of us don't feel like playing that game and they couldn't do it without us if their life depended on it. I realize they think they they finally can do it by themselves, or rather by hooking up a bunch of fresh bootcamp devs with AI; and I look forward to watching them crash, burn and come back…
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Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#97Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#98Software developers are basically the only thing standing between the morons and profit at any cost to society, because some of us don't feel like playing that game and they couldn't do it without us if their life depended on it. I realize they think they they finally can do it by themselves, or rather by hooking up a bunch of fresh bootcamp devs with AI; and I look forward to watching them crash, burn and come back…
I don't think software engineers are any more resilient to the profit incentives than the rest of us.
More resilient than Elon, Zucker & co for sure; more human to begin with.
Re: Why is everyone trying to replace Software Engineers?
#99Software developers are basically the only thing standing between the morons and profit at any cost to society, because some of us don't feel like playing that game and they couldn't do it without us if their life depended on it. I realize they think they they finally can do it by themselves, or rather by hooking up a bunch of fresh bootcamp devs with AI; and I look forward to watching them crash, burn and come back…
They won’t come begging for help. They _want_ the crash and burn.
Where is the profit?