I don't know Shortcuts in depth; but the problem with "rule based" tools like this is that they typically don't allow users to build new abstractions, so they d

I don't know Shortcuts in depth; but the problem with "rule based" tools like this is that they typically don't allow users to build new abstractions, so they don't really count as general programming languages. (You can create first-level abstractions, but they compose poorly). But yes, being able to create small automations over your own data is a start (see the large success of a tool like IFTT).