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How so? A computer needs to be told what to do. That by definition is called programming.

fixermark 13y ago
A great deal of programming is "maintenance work"---finding clever ways to automate data transactions, configurations, or physical migrations that could in theory be automated (i.e. describing what I want to do is straightforward such as "I want to move all the data from Duluth to Kookamunga") but for various reasons has not yet been (happens too infrequently to justify the cost, has too many 'sharp edges' in terms of unexpected scenarios, data is too sensitive to trust it to an automated process). A combination of software-as-a-service and ever-better automation tools will start to erode the number of programmers needed for those sort of roles. In fact, there's an old saw about a good software engineer being one who codes themselves out of a job. ;)
- wlievens 13y ago
  I think operating the hypothetical Nth generation high-level tools for the tasks you describe (let's call it ETL?) are still considered programming, as the difference between today's tools and the tool you describe is probably smaller than the difference between the nineteen fifties' tools and today's.
  - fixermark 13y ago
    It is. I'm speaking of fewer programmers for the same output.
    - wlievens 13y ago
      I agree. Bht probably (as it has in the past) the kind of stuff we will build software for will grow faster than efficiency gains.
krapp 13y ago
It doesn't necessarily need to be told what to do by a human. If you can create an AI capable of doing it and a process which can be automated, then I believe it's possible. I'm not saying it would be easy, but automating the complexity of rug weaving was once thought to be impossible too. The past suggests that with enough knowledge and infrastructure any human endeavor can be automated. Until recently, technology has mostly allowed replicating physical labor, but now we've made tenuous steps in virtualizing the processes of the human mind.
- wlievens 13y ago
  I think you still need to tell the AI, with some measure of detail, what he needs to build for you. I posit that that act is called programming by definition. Perhaps the difference between today's high-level languages, and the original way programmers programmed their machines in the fifties, is almost as vast as the difference we perceive between programming and telling our AI what to build. I guess what I'm saying is, we'll be the last jobs to be eliminated by progress, perhaps excepting the two oldest professions in the world (prostitutes & politicians).

A great deal of programming is "maintenance work"---finding clever ways to automate data transactions, configurations, or physical migrations that could in theory be automated (i.e. describing what I want to do is straightforward such as "I want to move all the data from Duluth to Kookamunga") but for various reasons has not yet been (happens too infrequently to justify the cost, has too many 'sharp edges' in terms of unexpected scenarios, data is too sensitive to trust it to an automated process). A combination of software-as-a-service and ever-better automation tools will start to erode the number of programmers needed for those sort of roles. In fact, there's an old saw about a good software engineer being one who codes themselves out of a job. ;)

wlievens 13y ago
I think operating the hypothetical Nth generation high-level tools for the tasks you describe (let's call it ETL?) are still considered programming, as the difference between today's tools and the tool you describe is probably smaller than the difference between the nineteen fifties' tools and today's.
- fixermark 13y ago
  It is. I'm speaking of fewer programmers for the same output.
  - wlievens 13y ago
    I agree. Bht probably (as it has in the past) the kind of stuff we will build software for will grow faster than efficiency gains.

krapp 13y ago

It doesn't necessarily need to be told what to do by a human. If you can create an AI capable of doing it and a process which can be automated, then I believe it's possible. I'm not saying it would be easy, but automating the complexity of rug weaving was once thought to be impossible too. The past suggests that with enough knowledge and infrastructure any human endeavor can be automated. Until recently, technology has mostly allowed replicating physical labor, but now we've made tenuous steps in virtualizing the processes of the human mind.

wlievens 13y ago
I think you still need to tell the AI, with some measure of detail, what he needs to build for you. I posit that that act is called programming by definition. Perhaps the difference between today's high-level languages, and the original way programmers programmed their machines in the fifties, is almost as vast as the difference we perceive between programming and telling our AI what to build. I guess what I'm saying is, we'll be the last jobs to be eliminated by progress, perhaps excepting the two oldest professions in the world (prostitutes & politicians).