AI & Software Engineering

It seems everyone these days is talking about AI (Artificial Intelligence) stealing software engineering jobs. Is it really as bad as it sounds?

Microsoft is well positioned to talk about this given they have both doubled-down on AI with OpenAI and ChatGPT while still employing thousands of software engineers around the world. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella says we’ve got to be smart about AI — use AI for good stuff but be careful about the tricky bits.

“(AI is).. moving fast, but moving fast in the right direction. Humans are in the loop versus being out of the loop”

Satya Nadella

AI is like a super-smart assistant that can do boring, repetitive tasks super quickly. Think about software engineers—they’ve got some tasks that are more “rinse and repeat” than fun and creative, like fixing small bugs or keeping code clean, keeping servers running, patching software etc. Here’s where AI can step in and take care of these tasks, like a helpful sidekick.

So Google BARD, Bing AI, and ChatGPT can help with repetitive (and sometimes boring) stuff like testing, debugging, and making software more secure. But they can’t replace the real creativity and problem-solving that humans, like software engineers, bring to the table.

So, is it the end of the golden era for software engineers? Nah, I think it’s more like the beginning of a cooler, more advanced era. Imagine this: Humans and AI working together, with AI handling the grunt work and humans tackling the interesting bits. It’s not about robots taking over; it’s more like robots being our sidekicks, making our work easier and better. So, let’s look forward to this rad future, shall we?