I Hope Robots Take The Jobs of Software Developers First

I’m a Software Developer. I have a collegiate receipt for a BS in Computer Science. I go by many names — Computer Scientist, Software Engineer, Javascript Wizard.

I get the salary of an engineer, the respect of a scientist, and the amazement classically reserved for a wizard.

In reality, my job is that of a glorified carpenter. Instead of wood and nails, I work with 1's and 0's. Saying I’m a glorified carpenter is an insult to carpenters, actually. Rather than building a chair you can sit on, a desk you can create on, or a house you can live in, I build apps which you can combat the ever-increasing evil of boredom. If I’m lucky, I get to write software that supports a system that changes someone’s life for the better; this is a small percentage of the software created, however.

Maybe this magical nature of software developers came from a seemingly arcane knowledge of how to make computers bend to our will. How to create something from, seemingly, nothing.

Here’s the secret though: I know how to think like an idiot. Computers are stupid. Amazingly stupid. They have to be told exactly what to do, they will always follow the rules. People are smart: they will bend and break the rules, do things that are clever, make conclusive jumps that no one else understands. The trick is to make a smart person think like a stupid computer. The better a person is at being dumb, the better they are at building software.

This is why I hope we can automate the writing of software. Computer code is entirely logical — it’s possibly the most logical thing ever devised by humans, outside of standard mathematics. It’s just a collection of step-by-step instructions to complete a goal. If we can leverage the creative nature of the human brain to establish the goal, we should be able to have a computer write the code to reach this goal.

Humans can go back to doing important, creative things then. Real engineers can come up with intense mathematical formulas that redefine how we think about the universe, how properties of crude oil are calculated, or how to save billionaires more money on their taxes. Real scientists can test hypotheses and create nanostructures to provide clean, renewable energy for the world. Real designers can spend their time making computers disappear into your every-day landscape, so that you don’t have to constantly deal with interacting with pictures under glass.

I’m a selfish being though — I’m completely addicted to my lifestyle. Addicted to my standard of food, entertainment, and housing. I can entirely enroll in the belief that that I deserve the respect and cash-flow I’m given from my career. I don’t want to give it up — but I think it needs to be.