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AI is going to make building software way cheaper and more profitable, but that's actually bad news for a lot of developers out there. Think about how many peop

AI is going to make building software way cheaper and more profitable, but that's actually bad news for a lot of developers out there. Think about how many people are only employed because they know the basics of React or Django or whatever. They can copy-paste code and tweak existing patterns, but that's exactly what AI is getting really good at. The developers who are actually going to thrive are the ones who can architect complex systems and solve gnarly technical problems. That stuff is getting more valuable, not less. But a lot of folks have built careers on pretty basic skills. They've gotten by because there just aren't many humans who can do even simple technical work. That advantage is disappearing fast.

65 2y ago
The barrier to entry will be raised, though isn't that always happening in software, regardless of if it's AI or not? Companies used to hire HTML email developers, for example. There are many HTML email builders out there that do the job for a marketing person. Better tooling, if it's AI tooling or a framework, continuously changes the job requirements. Even your average React developer still has to deal with plenty of other things people in the past didn't have to think about. E.g. dependency management, responsive screen sizes for all screen widths, native apps, state management, etc.
- rahimnathwani 2y ago
  "Better tooling, if it's AI tooling or a framework, continuously changes the job requirements." This might be true if you work at a tech company, but it's not universally true. There are many people who are gainfully employed as software developers, based solely on technical knowledge they acquired years ago.
- senordevnyc 2y ago
  Ironically though, if you do need to build raw HTML emails in 2025, it's still a huge PITA due to the horrible support for HTML / CSS across many email clients, and a dearth of good resources and information out there.

65 2y ago

The barrier to entry will be raised, though isn't that always happening in software, regardless of if it's AI or not? Companies used to hire HTML email developers, for example. There are many HTML email builders out there that do the job for a marketing person. Better tooling, if it's AI tooling or a framework, continuously changes the job requirements. Even your average React developer still has to deal with plenty of other things people in the past didn't have to think about. E.g. dependency management, responsive screen sizes for all screen widths, native apps, state management, etc.

rahimnathwani 2y ago
"Better tooling, if it's AI tooling or a framework, continuously changes the job requirements." This might be true if you work at a tech company, but it's not universally true. There are many people who are gainfully employed as software developers, based solely on technical knowledge they acquired years ago.
senordevnyc 2y ago
Ironically though, if you do need to build raw HTML emails in 2025, it's still a huge PITA due to the horrible support for HTML / CSS across many email clients, and a dearth of good resources and information out there.