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Biggest argument against AI meaningfully replacing software engineers is software not getting better/faster/cheaper. You'd think if it managed to cut down the c
by Nextgrid 11mo ago
Biggest argument against AI meaningfully replacing software engineers is software not getting better/faster/cheaper. You'd think if it managed to cut down the cost of producing it we'd see more software, or better/faster software, or it would be cheaper. Same in open-source.
Yet good software is still as scarce as ever, and if anything it's getting worse. So it seems like the effects of AI on software development are either too minimal, or are just short-term effects that translate to technical debt down the line which ends up erasing all the gains.
- _aavaa_ 11mo agoWhy would you think this? Most software doesn’t have competition. Even if Microsoft had all of openAIs secret sauce, why would the improve their products? Who you gonna switch to?
- JohnBooty 11mo agoI don't think any of us has enough data to judge this. The vast majority of code exists strictly behind closed doors in companies' various internal systems. And for the commercial and open source code you do see, how do you know if it's being produced more quickly or not? And finally, even if LLMs speed up coding by 10% or 50% or whatever... writing code is only a fraction of the job.