Will AI Take Your Programming Job?
What Programmers Need to Know?
I tried to convince people to slow down, slow down AI.
Nobody listened. -Elon Musk
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has released a report stating that around 80% of jobs will be affected by AI.
The impact of AI on jobs is distinct from that of the Industrial Revolution and the internet. Unlike those revolutions that mainly reorganized the workforce, AI has the potential to entirely replace it.
Even as a programmer, I cannot be overly confident that my profession will remain untouched.
In this article, I aim to share my findings and insights. Additionally, I will guide you on how to enhance your skills to navigate the upcoming AI revolution effectively. This Article holds crucial importance for your future as a programmer.
Back to 1800s
Those who do not learn from history are doomed
to repeat it. -George Santayana
To grasp the potential impact of AI on the job market, we need to delve into the past — back to the 18th century, during the peak of the Industrial Revolution. The landscape was changing rapidly. Machines such as steam engines and power looms were taking over manual labor across various industries. Agricultural laborers and textile workers were losing their jobs as these machines gained prominence.
The shift led to the rise of large factories, where workers operated machines on assembly lines, marking a departure from small-scale workshops and independent land-based labor. This change necessitated specific roles in the production process, ultimately boosting specialization and productivity. Consequently, a new societal class emerged — the middle class — comprising managers, skilled workers, and professionals. This transformation was a far cry from the previous dichotomy of the wealthy elite and the impoverished working class.
Two critical takeaways from this historical comparison are as follows: Firstly, the Industrial Revolution gave birth to the middle class. Secondly, it fostered heightened specialization.
While it’s easy to anticipate similarities between the AI revolution and the Industrial Revolution, the distinction between the two holds greater significance for programmers. Let’s explore this divergence in more detail.
Three Distinct Classes of Coders
We can categorize programmers into three distinct groups or classes.
At the base level, there are individuals possessing basic programming skills. They might design basic websites or create simple SQL queries for databases.
Moving up, we find programmers capable of constructing slightly more intricate features. They handle bigger sets of code, which often include more work on the server side. This group represents the middle class in the programming world.
At the top are programmers who manage extensive codebases and oversee products with a large number of users. These software engineers must think about important architectural choices and the trade-offs that come with them. Usually, they hold senior or principal positions at major tech companies.
My hypothesis contends that if AI maintains its current pace of advancement (a significant “if”), the programmer middle class could dwindle — a stark contrast to the Industrial Revolution’s outcomes. Even those within the bottom programmer tier may not be spared from unfavorable consequences.
Allow me to elaborate.
The Fate of Middle-Class
Throughout history, computers have required specific languages for instruction. Consequently, a multitude of programming languages emerged to address various applications. However, recent AI developments have rendered English and other languages comprehensible to computers, effectively serving as new programming languages. With tools like ChatGPT, individuals adept at effective communication and possessing basic programming skills can generate code for tasks that once necessitated the middle-class programmer.
Consequently, I predict the vanishing of the programmer middle class, merging them with the lower tier of programmers. Regrettably, this bottom tier’s wages might dip lower than their current standing due to intense competition stemming from an abundance of proficient writers — a surplus that could lead to diminished job opportunities and compensation.
This phenomenon aligns with the evolving landscape where AI and automation gradually supplant human roles, ultimately yielding a more equitable society where reduced labor no longer equates to diminished value.
For those who are thinking: What about these people at the top? Why are they making significantly more than the others?
Well, if AI keeps advancing, we will not need any of these classes. Nobody would be working and we would all get what our governments decide to pay us.
New Horizons for Future Coders
If my discussion has invoked apprehension, I apologize — that was not my intent. My aim was to explore potential scenarios, albeit speculative, that could emerge. While these projections remain far from realization, they are not entirely implausible. Thus, I’m determined to provide solutions rather than just raising concerns.
As someone just starting out in the world of programming, you might be wondering how to navigate the upcoming AI revolution.
Embracing the adage, “When one door closes, another opens,” let’s acknowledge that while some specific job sectors might diminish due to AI, fresh opportunities will also arise. The AI revolution demands skilled professionals to develop, implement, and maintain AI systems. Fields related to machine learning, AI, and robotics will likely observe heightened demand.
This situation is similar to how the Industrial Revolution influenced things and encouraged expertise in these fields. Among those best positioned to take advantage of these opportunities, programmers are leading the way.
Understanding the prerequisites for AI system construction is pivotal. Visualize artificial intelligence as a vast circle, encompassing systems emulating human thinking and actions. Achieving this involves numerous approaches, with machine learning being a prominent one. Within machine learning, deep learning emerges as a key technique, employing interconnected neuron layers — neural networks — mirroring the human brain’s function.
Programming constitutes a crucial facet of building neural networks and AI systems like ChatGPT. Moreover, programmers design infrastructure and frameworks vital for scaling and optimizing neural network deployment. Hence, programmers hold an advantageous position in the AI revolution.
However, programming alone is insufficient. A solid grasp of mathematics, particularly linear algebra, and calculus, underpins machine learning. While proficiency in these subjects is essential, extensive mathematical prowess is reserved for those innovating new algorithms. Additionally, a strong understanding of statistics is vital, given its role in various machine learning concepts.
Programming skills, especially in Python, are fundamental. Complementing this foundation, familiarity with machine learning techniques such as linear regression, k-nearest neighbors, and random forests is essential. Similarly, delving into deep learning algorithms like convolutional neural networks and transformers is invaluable.
In closing, remember that ChatGPT was created using transformers.
Bottom Line
While the path ahead might appear daunting, I’ve traversed both the AI/machine learning route and the web development trajectory. Interestingly, I found the AI path to be less difficult.
I truly believe that if you are a programmer, you must invest some time into learning more about this AI path if you want to become future-proof.
