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AI Automated Engineers - Are We Doomed?

Fernando González Tostado on March 18, 2024

Not long ago, AI experts predicted that Software Engineers would eventually be automated by AI, just like many other professions. With the release ...
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Peter Harrison

The machines are coming for us all. Today we stand in relation to AI as paper newspapers did to the Internet in the mid nineties. Your job may not be under threat today, but enough people will lose their jobs soon enough that this is going to be a serious social problem. We could regulate and ban of course, but near as I can tell this will only export those jobs to other countries which do embrace AI. So become a dentist or hair dresser. Some jobs involving sharp object in close proximity to the head I figure involve a level of trust that will make them last to go. But anything that involves looking at a screen, moving a mouse and typing; dead men walking.

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Fernando González Tostado • Edited

I don't really think we'll be dead men walking. But supercharged and productive professionals. Even Andrej Karpathy (former director of AI in Tesla) does a great analogy in this twit

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Peter Harrison

Even if there is a small group of highly paid super AI geniuses, the broader IT community will be affected. We place a great deal of our self esteem in being intelligent, just as artists thought their creativity protected them. It didn't protect artists, and our intelligence as developers won't save us either. Read Karpathy's post again.

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Anthony J. Borla

We place a great deal of our self esteem in being intelligent ... and our intelligence as developers won't save us either.

Indeed ! What are we (the non-genius majority) left with, without truly meaningful work ? It is not only about money, or status, but about having something to which we can devote our energy, and derive the deep satisfaction of accomplishment.

I truly enjoy using my intellect to solve meaningful, real-world problems, and I feel pride in the effort I expend doing so. I do not want to be reduced to merely asking a software application for a solution, or "supervising" it while it generates a solution in response to my "prompts". If we extrapolate, it becomes obvious I, the human, become the expendable one.

It is dismaying to see so many, so eagerly working toward their own demise.

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slaven1

Are you familiar with the mega-advisory company Gartner? As a side note, they are valued at $5.9 billion and are part of the S&P 500. Their forecasts span all sectors, including developing ones. We are currently amidst an AI industrial revolution, which is fundamentally reshaping civilization, society, and all its constituent segments. Take a look at MindStudio, which visually represents its AI. AI is a reality, albeit one that currently depends on human input, with regulations still unclear and largely nonexistent. This means that every sector of development will be significantly influenced by AI.

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Ben Halpern

Very good post

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KDon

AI tools will just improve the total human output and allow non technical people in future to create software. This will lead to less concentrated wealth.

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Anthony J. Borla

This will lead to less concentrated wealth.

No, only legislation that promotes competition (and is enforced), changes in corporate and taxation laws that act to do so, can accomplish that aim.

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tnypxl

Less concentrated wealth? Maybe. We said the same of crypto. Yet, wealth disparities continue to grow.

When "AI" is able to do more than just generate media, then maybe you'll be right.

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Fernando González Tostado

I think in the short run AI will give more opportunities for the regular people, but in the long run it could create great wealth disparities when the race for the AI dominance is won by one company (probably openai or ms) and that's why governments should step in now with regulation to prevent this.

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Anthony J. Borla

That the possibility even exists that one corporation can become so-dominant reflects the poor state of competition, corporate, and even taxation law, in economically powerful jurisdictions, the product of 45 years of legislative negligence.

Regulators should act to ensure that no one (or even few) corporation(s) can be so dominant. Monopolies are not healthy for individual, let alone, the world, economy.

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Fernando González Tostado

I completely agree, and given the significance that AI could have across all industries, I believe the U.S. government is falling behind in addressing this issue. Hopefully, I’m mistaken, but the lack of oversight and regulation could lead to a catastrophic outcome for the world, not just the USA.

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GM

Great read! Something we all should keep in mind. "AI is a tool, its not good and its not evil."

Garen Murcia

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Fernando González Tostado

Like money, weapons, and so on. It depends of how it is used.

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GM

100%

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FrontEndWebDeveloping

I thought it was well written. Still, I find most of this AI talk speculation. Most people don't seem to have any solid facts. This seems to be a problem with all the AI posts I read. So, I'm not to fond of them at large. But still, this one seemed to be better than most.

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Fernando González Tostado • Edited

Thanks for commenting. While there's indeed a lot of speculation, there is a lot of real working tools out there, so I'd rather start preparing myself before and not eventually get replaced by a tool that I could have perfectly leveraged to improve professionally.

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FrontEndWebDeveloping

I totally agree with that.

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Fernando González Tostado

Hi, thanks for commenting :). I think there are already evidences out there that this could actually replace work from us. favtutor.com/articles/devin-ai-ear...?

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FrontEndWebDeveloping

Thanks for replying to my comment. I read the article you sent me. I would agree, it backs up the statements you've made in you post. I'm not saying that AI won't replace developers work in many area, but I'm not saying it will. If read quite a few articles on this. Everyone has their sources, and everything seems to be contradictory. Right now, I'm going to be the best software developer a can, and wait and see. :)

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Fernando González Tostado

And that's the right mindset! Seeing AI as great tool rather than a menace. Only time will tell.

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Kingsley-Eghianruwa

AI: The Empowering Exosuit

Imagine a powerful exosuit, like Iron Man's armor. On its own, the suit is an impressive feat of engineering, but without a skilled pilot, it's just a collection of inactive technology.

This is similar to Artificial Intelligence. AI is incredibly powerful, capable of complex tasks and analysis. But just like the exosuit, AI needs a human to provide focus and expertise to unlock its true potential.

The Hero Behind the Controls

A superhero in the exosuit can achieve amazing feats, but it's their training, experience, and strategic thinking that make them truly heroic. Similarly, an AI system guided by a human with knowledge and expertise can produce groundbreaking results.

The Winning Formula: Human and Machine Together

The key takeaway? AI is a transformative tool, but it augments human capabilities, not replaces them. The true winners of AI will be those who use it to empower their workforce, not downsize it. Just like a superhero and their exosuit, the most effective teams will combine human ingenuity with AI's power to achieve remarkable things. The future belongs to those who can foster this powerful collaboration between human and artificial intelligence.

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Fernando González Tostado

Genius! I loved this analogy!

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Marco Lamina

Great post! I think the future for us engineers is figuring out how to use AI to our advantage. I don't think a 1:1 replacement is the way. New tools should augment our workflows, not replace them. I wrote a blog post on how to create flow with AI tools.

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RouCodes

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this post. I really liked the title, so I read it with interest. I agree, especially with the idea that the tech industry will eventually filter out people who are only in it for money. But what about creativity? AI can't be creative. When it comes to Devin AI, We haven't tested it yet, so we're uncertain if it will truly be a flawless substitute for software developers. I won't deny that AI will change how we work by automating repetitive tasks, but ultimately, AI will always be the tools we control.

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Fernando González Tostado

I think Devin is just a proof of concept. Eventually a better model (if not Devin) will somehow be used in production codebases, which will reduce the need of engineers in those pieces of the system.

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Sohail @chakraframer.com

I feel the same regarding that we should use these tools to boost our performance

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Fernando González Tostado

They've made my last year and a half super productive and some tasks that would have been daunting in the past are not anymore.

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FrontEndWebDeveloping

Overall, I view AI as a positive development for developers (pun intended).

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Sohail @chakraframer.com

Yes, I use copilot and it makes my productive sky rocket when I have write elements in html or design db once it understand my patterns of design files and folders

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Pranesh Chowdhury

AI indeed will take away some jobs. AI is developing as the world goes on. But we need to adapt to the situations.

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Fernando González Tostado

change is the only constant - Heraclitus

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PixelPilot98

That's why I'm glad I have other options. Not only IT

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Fernando González Tostado

The importance of having range, not only within your profession but others!