Understanding AI's Impact: Is There a Future for Programmers?

AI is transforming programming, emphasising big ideas over code. However, humans remain at the core of creativity and problem-solving

Friday August 18, 2023 , 2 min Read

People have always wondered how new technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), will affect jobs. A big question nowadays is: Will AI take over the roles of programmers?

Programming has mainly been about people learning computer languages, which takes a lot of time and hard work. But AI is changing this. Systems like GPT-4 are teaching computers to understand our language, not the other way around.

So, what does this mean? If AI can learn to code, do we still need to spend years mastering it? The answer isn't simple. While AI can handle repetitive coding tasks, real programming is more than just typing out code. It's about solving problems, coming up with new ideas, and understanding what people need.

Here's an example. The world of proteins is huge and complex. For a long time, we only knew a tiny bit about them. Then came an AI named AlphaFold by DeepMind. This AI figured out the structure of almost all proteins quickly, something humans took ages to do. This doesn't mean researchers aren't needed. It just shows how AI can handle big tasks, allowing humans to focus on understanding and coming up with new ideas.

So, will AI replace programmers? Not really. While AI can help with coding, the real work of understanding a problem and coming up with a solution is a human thing. Think about it: computers can follow instructions quickly, but they can't truly understand human needs or think creatively like we do.

ChatGPT, and tools like it, can be imagined as helpers for programmers, making their work easier. But they won't take away the job entirely. In the future, a programmer’s job might be less about typing out code and more about thinking of smart solutions.

To put it another way, AI in programming is like having a smarter calculator. It helps simplify things and lets us interact more directly with computers. But instead of replacing programmers, AI will change what programming looks like. It'll be more about big ideas and less about the technical details.

AI isn't something to fear. It's a tool that'll help us do things differently. The future will likely see humans and AI working together, each making the other better.