4 ms·

The tech is different, sure, but they were all attempts to replace developers with business users by hiding the code. Hasn't worked so far because it turns out

The tech is different, sure, but they were all attempts to replace developers with business users by hiding the code. Hasn't worked so far because it turns out there's more to being a good developer than just code, but it's still what people try over and over.

skydhash 1y ago
Code is ossified design. The whole problem is coming up with the design and dealing with both essentials and accidental complexities. Writing the code is routine work. The only difference from other design works is that we often go back and forth as we can start coding as soon as we want. It's like how building an house is pretty much logistic and repetitive works. Designing an house is complex enough that you requires a degree and years of experience before you're trusted to do it well.
IshKebab 1y ago
That's not why low-code or WYSIWYG failed. I mean arguably they didn't fail - Squarespace and Notion seem to be doing fine. But the reason they didn't fully replace most developers is that people generally want to do things that are outside the capabilities of the platforms. They aren't generic enough for every use case. AI is fundamentally different in that regard. There should be a name for this fallacy - the previous attempts failed therefore all attempts will fail.
- SketchySeaBeast 1y ago
  Sure, same with the "This time is fundamentally different" fallacy. See my previous comment about apocalyptic cults. Important to note I'm not saying there is no technology ever that won't fill that gap, GenAI probably would, but I'm not at all convinced that LLMs are the right tech to do everything that needs to be done to replace devs.
  - IshKebab 1y ago
    I mean, if you can't tell the fundamental difference between AI and low code/WYSIWYG I don't know what to say...
    - owebmaster 1y ago
      I mean, if you can't see the difference between assembly and C was much bigger and unleashed the great age of programming, I don't know what to say
- Jensson 1y ago
  > They aren't generic enough for every use case. > AI is fundamentally different in that regard. Currently most projects are outside of the capabilities of AI. Platforms can get better and add more features, why is that different than AI getting better and can do more? Back then it wasn't known if it was possible to make these platforms generic enough that you could replace programmers. You couldn't. Today we aren't sure if it is possible to make transformer based AI generic enough to replace programmers. Time will tell if we can. So to me it looks exactly the same.

skydhash 1y ago

Code is ossified design. The whole problem is coming up with the design and dealing with both essentials and accidental complexities. Writing the code is routine work. The only difference from other design works is that we often go back and forth as we can start coding as soon as we want. It's like how building an house is pretty much logistic and repetitive works. Designing an house is complex enough that you requires a degree and years of experience before you're trusted to do it well.

IshKebab 1y ago

That's not why low-code or WYSIWYG failed. I mean arguably they didn't fail - Squarespace and Notion seem to be doing fine. But the reason they didn't fully replace most developers is that people generally want to do things that are outside the capabilities of the platforms. They aren't generic enough for every use case. AI is fundamentally different in that regard. There should be a name for this fallacy - the previous attempts failed therefore all attempts will fail.

SketchySeaBeast 1y ago
Sure, same with the "This time is fundamentally different" fallacy. See my previous comment about apocalyptic cults. Important to note I'm not saying there is no technology ever that won't fill that gap, GenAI probably would, but I'm not at all convinced that LLMs are the right tech to do everything that needs to be done to replace devs.
- IshKebab 1y ago
  I mean, if you can't tell the fundamental difference between AI and low code/WYSIWYG I don't know what to say...
  - owebmaster 1y ago
    I mean, if you can't see the difference between assembly and C was much bigger and unleashed the great age of programming, I don't know what to say
Jensson 1y ago
> They aren't generic enough for every use case. > AI is fundamentally different in that regard. Currently most projects are outside of the capabilities of AI. Platforms can get better and add more features, why is that different than AI getting better and can do more? Back then it wasn't known if it was possible to make these platforms generic enough that you could replace programmers. You couldn't. Today we aren't sure if it is possible to make transformer based AI generic enough to replace programmers. Time will tell if we can. So to me it looks exactly the same.