Is emerging AI the End of Programming?

We developers were always working on getting more aid for our work (to do less, we will come back to this). Throughout computing history, we've created better languages with higher level concepts. Think about assembly versus C++, C++ versus Pascal & Delphi, and up to Java and Go. All these advancements had one goal: less work to achieve more.

Where languages didn't help enough, we created libraries inside languages to help work less (or at least do less repetitive work). And where it got too complicated to put libraries together, we started combining them into opinionated, preconfigured packages. This is how frameworks were born—again, for less repetitive work.

We have been reiterating over this loop for many years until now. Recently, someone stepped back, thought out of the box, and brought a new tool: AI augmented or standalone coding. This tool still pursues the same concept: doing less repetitive work.

Has something fundamentally changed? Probably yes—we were fighting with swords, and now we got gunpowder! Is it the end of progress? Definitely no! We are going to yet invent automatic rifles, tanks, airplanes... the wise read between the lines.

Should We (Developers) Be Afraid?

We don't know yet. Will this tool put us (the translators between human's will and the digital circuits' way of operation) out of work? no one has the answer, yet. What is for sure is that each change will definitely put some out of their current jobs but will offer many more new opportunities. Some will need to change jobs, some need to elevate their skills, and some will find holes to hide in for the next few years until they reach retirement (if there will be any pension in the new world order).

But collectively we will progress. We will undergo a (painful) operation and as a whole will emerge faster, more performant, able to reach higher goals.

AI in its core is automation with amazing capacity and speed. Automatization in any form reduces the workload on all humans (to different degrees), so we might be able to maintain or improve our lifestyle while reducing our active working time. We will do less but achieve more. We will also sacrifice performance, but we will accomplish more, faster.

Think about what old-time games could do with 16MB of RAM, an 8086 CPU, and 500MB of HDD. Now read the minimum requirements of modern games and laugh. Then consider how many of those old games we had versus how many modern-day games appear per year now. We sacrificed performance, but we are achieving way more.

This matches a broader trend: the world is getting bigger and more complex. We need many more digital solutions and many more developers (or their equals). It's time to multiply our resources using new tools.

These new tools will help us avoid doing boring, repetitive tasks and focus on innovative parts. They elevate us from being busy defining jumps, keeping line numbers aligned and handling bytes in Assembly to Object-Oriented and functional programming concepts of Java, .Net and TypeScript. They help us step up and concentrate on higher-level concepts rather than low-level things that, while enjoyable to do for some, won't let us reach higher goals if not done faster.

Am I (Personally) Afraid?

This is more of a personal aspect of looking at this change (the emerging AI), answering not as a developer anymore.

Kind of yes—but not because of AI on its own. Rather, I'm concerned about who will control it. Humanity has gone through many different ages where power has shifted: from individuals to tribal leaders, to local governors, to kings and emperors, then to heads of countries. Now we are in the age of another power shift: to the hands of multinational giant companies. AI is another tool (even more effective than social media bubbles) that will help or accelerate this shift. I'm more afraid of how this will end.

This affects not only developers but almost everyone and everything. Those who own AI will define what is possible in many (if not all) fields: society, science, finance, and beyond.