Will ChatGPT replace Programmers?

Kiran Maan
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR
4 min readJul 8, 2024

The question “ Will ChatGPT replace programmers” often comes to our mind.

Image created by the author on Canva

As someone who works in the tech business must see how quickly AI and automation have grown.

However, it might seem more complex than it might seem to say that these technologies will completely replace programmers.

ChatGPT and other AI models are very useful tools. They can create code snippets, fix bugs, and even help programmers come up with new ways to solve problems.

This is very helpful for programmers because it saves time and makes boring jobs less of a burden.

A futuristic AI assistant working alongside a human programmer, helping with coding on a computer screen filled with code.
Image created by the author with AI

For example, I’ve used AI tools to speed up my coding process, letting me focus more on the creative and complex aspects of my projects.

However, programming is more than just writing code. It requires you to think critically, solve problems, and see how a job fits into the bigger picture.

Artificial intelligence (AI) lacks important human qualities like intuition, imagination, and the ability to work with others. The amount of understanding and empathy that comes from programming is something that machines can’t do.

Let’s think about a situation in which AI helps a cook in the kitchen to understand this better.

Even though the AI can help by gathering items and following recipes, it can’t cook up a new masterpiece by itself. Also, AI can help with coding, but it can only come up with ideas or make big decisions like a human coder can.

When you’re programming, you have to deal with a lot of tricky scenarios that require human judgment and experience that AI doesn’t have.

I remember a time when I was working on a project with tight deadlines. It was very helpful that we used an AI tool to do some simple coding tasks. But when it came to putting together different parts and making sure they all worked well together, the human touch was essential.

The AI could write code, but a human brain was needed to figure out how that code fits into the bigger picture and make the necessary changes.

A programmer deeply focused on integrating various components of a project, surrounded by a mix of digital code and creative sketches.
Image created by the author with AI

This experience made me even more convinced that AI is not a substitute for human programmers but rather something that works with them. It’s like having a supercharged assistant who can do some things while we focus on the parts of our job that need human intelligence and creativity.

Let’s take a very simple example:

Imagine that you have a robot friend who is very smart and can help you with your tasks. It can quickly do many things, like figure out math questions or find information for your school project.

Your computer friend is very smart, but it can’t do everything as well as you can.

If you need to write a new story for school. The robot can help you spell words right and give you ideas, but it can’t come up with its own stories like you can.

The robot doesn’t have any creativity, but you do. You know how to make characters and stories interesting. Since the computer doesn’t have emotions or life, it can’t think of new ideas like you can.

To sum up, ChatGPT and other AI technologies like it are changing the way we program by making us more efficient and effective, but they have yet to be ready to take the place of programmers.

A balanced scale with a human on one side representing creativity and critical thinking, and an AI on the other side representing efficiency and speed.
Image created by the author with AI

AI can’t match the unique mix of technical skills, creative thought, and interaction with people that programmers bring to their work. So, instead of being afraid of being replaced, we should use these tools to improve our skills and see how far we can go.

We can use AI to our advantage this way, which makes our work easier and more fun while we continue to push the tech industry forward.

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Kiran Maan
ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR

✦ web developer ✦ MCA in web development ✦ Love to talk about Technology, AI and Programming tips and tricks