See, the tech industry is the fastest growing industry, demonstrating linear growth over decades than any other sector. One of the big reasons for this is the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial General Intelligence or AGI, has become a significant aspect in our lives, be it personal or professional. In the prior year 2023, we have noticed the impact of AI, especially on the job market, which hasn't been so positive. We have also seen massive tech layoffs which may be due to the growth of AI.
I foresee AI becoming a tool that software developers normally use. And the next generation will grow up using them. Here’s an analogy: I see it like when the first compilers were made. Instead of coding everything in assembly, we now have compilers that translate more human-readable language like C into a language that the computer understands: machine code. And ever since then, we've been creating more human-readable languages like Java and Python. And our human-readable languages have become increasingly high-level , requiring less understanding of how computers think and becoming more accessible to programmers. Therefore, I see AI as another iteration of that, with a boom of AI coding tools like the boom of programming languages we witnessed.
I think we should see it first as a tool for developers to make them more efficient, but it will take some time until AI can fully replace programmers. So it's important to keep an eye on it and start using AI tools to help with development , staying relevant with emerging technologies. Technology has always been adapting, so as developers we need to continue to adapt to continue to provide value to the world and maintain relevance in the ever-changing tech industry.
Well, it's a little complicated. If AI started taking care of the major actions in any sector, then it won’t only be the Software Development, every sector’s professionals will be in danger for losing their job. As we have seen OpenAi’s Sora creating Cinematic video with a prompt. If this goes well, in a few years after fine tuning the model, the Film industry will collapse along with the high-paying actors. Very soon we may find ourselves watching 2 hour-movies which will fully be generated by AI, and we won’t be able to distinguish it from the movies created by humans.
Similarly , we have seen AI creating and composing songs with just the 30 seconds voice sample of the artist -- collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd and Kanye singing Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' . I know they sounds flawless. Hence, if AI takes over the industry, it won’t only affect Software development but also the Film Creators and famous singers.
I don't think AI will ever be able to fully replace developers because there's a human component required for software development. Software development requires an understanding of the human need and human observation to assess if the need has been met. For example, there's a lot of AI art and music, but for the art and music to be used, it needs a human to subjectively decide what is good art and good music. Humans give meaning to AI so it is not possible for AI on its own to generate its own meaning. Extending this idea to programming, AI is not possible to generate meaningful programs without humans because it is humans who are using the programs and it is humans who decide if a program "works".
As the AI field and industry grows more and more, we as developers need to keep an eye on it and adapt as necessary as time goes on.
In conclusion, while the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) sparks concerns about job displacement and industry disruption, its integration into software development signifies a paradigm shift rather than a threat. AI serves as a transformative tool, enhancing efficiency and accessibility for developers. However, its true potential lies in collaboration with human creativity, as AI alone cannot imbue meaning or solve complex problems. Therefore, embracing AI as a complementary resource while nurturing human ingenuity is key to navigating the evolving tech landscape and driving innovation forward.