Whether you think you're replaceable by AI or you think you're not - you're right

2 minutes

AI is the new bogeyman for software engineers. Every other day, some headline is screaming that AI is coming for our jobs, after all they do the job better, faster and they don’t need these long coffee breaks… If you’ve been losing sleep over these headlines, don’t worry—I’m sure there’s an AI that can help with that too.

But anyway, here’s the kicker—whether you think you’re replaceable by AI or you think you’re not—you’re right. (Yes, I paraphrased Henry Ford.)

You are a code monkey. Let’s get real. If your job is to make basic CRUD apps, convert specs into code, or change a button’s color, then you should worry. AI is already chomping at the bit to automate the hell out of those tasks. Why? Because they are easy and repetitive.

“Checklist: Are You a Code Monkey?”

  • Spends 80% of your day renaming variables.

  • Thinks a “challenging task” is updating the color scheme.

  • Believing that creativity is choosing between a ‘for’ loop and a ‘while’ loop.

You are more than a code monkey(?). AI can do the simple, repetitive stuff.

I use it daily for many things, for my own day job, and for some personal projects. One thing that is very noticeable is that for some tasks it is great! Queries? awesome, new CRUD for a model? Fantastic! Designing a system? Refactoring legacy code? Debugging difficult issues? Yeah, AI is not so great at that. These tasks need experience, intuition, and creativity. AI lacks these. AI can assist, suggest, give feedback, and automate parts of these tasks, but the heavy lifting? That still needs a human touch.

So, whether you think you are replaceable by AI or you think you are not—you’re right. If you reduce your work to translating specifications into code, then yes, AI might soon be able to do your job. But if you see yourself as a problem-solver and a critical thinker, you are irreplaceable.

I hope that ages well, but if the robots take my job anytime soon, I’ll keep you updated.

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