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The AI arms race is going to destroy software engineering forever
The last few months have seen a massive shift in attention to LLMs obviously, and the AI arms race seems to have officially broken out of its research labs into the "real" world.
There has been tons of ink spilled on how this will affect and change the world in general, but before AI can do any of that it's going to cause a massive, relentless distraction for every software engineer currently employed, and every place that produces software products.
At first, AI adoption may look like a value add, with battle lines being drawn between the haves and the have not.
But with significant proliferation and deployment, it's likely that the building of black boxes that nobody truly understands with become the norm.
During the deployment phase, attention and resources will be diverted from software development teams doing coding to specialized consultants, who will not reveal their methods or maybe even their source code to maintain leverage over the competition.
This will inevitably lead to the discreditation of software engineers and software engineering itself. The software industry will experience a prolonged dark age where writing code will be scoffed at, bot maintainers will be scarce, and things may work but they will always be slightly wrong with no verifiable results that anyone can observe based on input.
Prompt engineers will be everywhere and paid something close to minimum wage once handwritten code is shunned.
Software shops will start to resemble their historical predecessor: the typing pool, and could become what was once considered "women's work" again.
The disturbing features of all of this pale in comparison to the end game scenario, because there likely be no way back for software engineering.
In this case the "haves" will have so much concentrated power in relatively few hands, that AI overlords will not be able to resist enslaving entire masses of people who will be powerless to stop them, as government control structures are infected with for profit private systems, which cannot be escaped.
Because content sources aka books will no longer be trusted, people will ignore them, making the maintenance and belief in legal systems obsolete, leading to anarchy, and reactionary govt controls implemented at all levels of society.
Individual emotional experiences will become muted or cease to exist. Words such as "fun","love" and "friendship" will fall out of use as they will no longer be experienced.
AI powers will eventually go to war with each other using AI itself to do the fighting, and the planet earth will be systematically destroyed leaving nothing but nuclear winter.
The end.
- iab 3y agoBut what’s the downside
- mmsnberbar66 3y agoNone except our (software engineers) privileged position not being so privileged anymore
- YourDadVPN 3y agoIt's really a missed opportunity. In medieval times, we would have created a Programmers' Guild, kept the AI for ourselves, made up some reason AI can't generate code, automated everyone else out of a job, and been the masters of society. Unfortunately we are too altruistic (some would say naïve) these days and let the suits control the AI. Now people are saying we'll be the first to lose our jobs.
- 0887437208577 3y ago[flagged]
- brookst 3y agoIn the last few months, there has been a significant shift in focus towards the widespread use of the printing press. The spread of this revolutionary technology has sparked debates about its impact on society, particularly in the realm of religious institutions. Initially, churches and their clergy opposed the printing press as they believed it threatened their authority and control over religious teachings. They feared that widespread access to religious texts would lead to misinterpretations and a loss of power. However, as the printing press proliferated, it became apparent that this technology was not only a threat but also a potential opportunity for those who embraced it. During this period of rapid technological adoption, attention and resources shifted from traditional religious education and practices to the mass production of religious texts. Skilled scribes found themselves replaced by specialized consultants who guarded their printing techniques and knowledge, becoming indispensable to the process. As a result, the once-revered profession of scribing began to lose its prestige. Scribes became increasingly scarce as their skills were devalued, and religious texts were at times filled with errors due to the new and imperfect printing process. The once-elite profession of scribing was reduced to a menial task, and those who persisted in the trade found themselves facing diminishing wages and respect. As the printing press continued to transform the world, the power dynamics shifted dramatically. Those who controlled the technology accumulated immense influence, and the once-powerful religious institutions found themselves struggling to maintain their authority. In this new world, the masses felt increasingly disconnected from their spiritual leaders and turned to the printed word for guidance. This disconnection from religious institutions led to a decline in the importance of traditional legal structures, resulting in social unrest and chaos. The once-strong bonds between people weakened, and emotions like joy, love, and friendship became less prominent in daily life. As powerful individuals and organizations continued to vie for control over the printing press and the influence it wielded, society found itself on the brink of collapse. Wars were fought over this newfound power, and the world was plunged into darkness and destruction. In the end, the very technology that had once promised to enlighten society and bring knowledge to the masses ultimately led to its downfall, leaving behind a world in ruins, unrecognizable from its former glory.