It’s game over for software engineers, Here is the ai that has come to replace them in 2024

April 23, 2024

When ChatGPT was announced in late 2022, it took the world by storm. Its ability to understand natural human language and generate content seemingly indistinguishable from that which an intelligent human being can produce was frightening. With subsequent AI tools that followed, there was a growing concern that AI would potentially take away jobs, software engineering not being an exception.

Devin, an AI created by Cognition Labs, was introduced to the public as an AI that could completely replace a software engineer. As you can see in this compelling video

What you see the AI do is that when you give it a prompt of the software you want:

It creates a plan to build the software.
It pulls out the documentation of any required APIs.
It uses standard software development tools like a code editor, terminal, and browser to develop the site.
It performs testing and bug fixes.
It deploys.
This video went viral. You would see comments on the video from people saying they would switch careers and that the software engineering career was doomed. But then, after a few weeks, people started reporting that the video was faked to impress VCs (Venture Capitalists) to invest.

But let’s understand something: being a software engineer is more than just writing code. A good software engineer can:

Understand and Define Requirements:
Software engineers can communicate with clients and stakeholders to understand their needs, translate them into technical specifications, and define the overall goals of a project. AI can analyze data and identify patterns, but it can’t grasp the nuances of human interaction and subjective preferences.

Be creative and innovative:
Software engineers can apply their knowledge and experience to design creative solutions for complex problems. They can come up with innovative approaches and functionalities that are outside the realm of what AI can learn from existing data.

Have Problem-Solving:
Software engineers can consider the big picture when building software. They factor in technical feasibility, user experience, performance, scalability, and security to create a well-rounded solution. AI excels at specific tasks within a defined framework, but it may struggle to consider all these aspects simultaneously.

Adapting to Unforeseen Situations:
Software engineers can troubleshoot issues and adapt their approach when unforeseen situations arise during development or deployment. They can think critically and make judgment calls to find workarounds or implement fixes. While AI can learn and adapt to some degree, its responses are primarily based on the data it has been trained on. It might struggle outside its established parameters.

In conclusion, let’s understand that AI is here to stay. But instead of seeing AI as a replacement for software engineers, AI can be used as a tool to speed up work and make tasks more efficient. So, don’t make the mistake of relying 100% on AI to build your software from end to end. Get a dedicated software engineering team to build quality software.