AI Does the Coding
AI has forever changed the world of coding. Gone are the days when programmers would spend most of their day coding. Today, you can ask AI to do most, if not all, of the work for you. With this news, most people have deemed that programmers will no longer be necessary. I think a more realistic view at the present moment is to say that it has significantly transformed the developer's role.
The Fallout
What's also true about AI's ability to code is that it definitely has, and will continue to have, an impact on the number of people needed to create applications and software. Paired with AI, a single developer can do the work of five. If you're looking to be the one in five developers who survive, then you need to become an AI Age developer.
The AI Age Developer
The AI Age Developer understands the systems undergirding software development. They understand version control and development best practices. They have technical knowledge so as to comprehend how the code works, even if AI writes it. They are excellent at code reviews and can easily spot mistakes made by the AI. If necessary, they feel comfortable making edits to the code.
What You Need to Do to Become an AI Age Developer
So how do you truly become or remain a developer in the Age of AI? In my experience, it has been to gain really good domain knowledge. In the good old days, programmers were not necessarily experts in the software that they were making. They relied on subject matter experts and stakeholders to help in the development process. To survive in the Age of AI, you must become a subject matter expert yourself. In that way, you become the person who knows how the application should look, feel, and operate.
Another anchor for you is to understand the systems behind the software development process. Version control is something most developers are familiar with, but code reviews may not always be a strength. As AI does more and more of the coding, you need to get better at code reviews and development workflow. You should not ship code unless it makes sense to you.
Personal Transformation
I'm someone who craves new projects. I often get ideas for new applications or software and want to act on them immediately. In former days, I would start the project, not get very far due to how complicated even basic things can be, and then, in some cases, give up on it. With AI, I have the ability to ideate on things much quicker. Most of the time, I can get to a working MVP in a matter of hours. I may still quit a project, but I spend significantly less time getting to the point of failure. A significantly higher number of projects get completed and shipped.
I was always pretty good at writing code, but I've come to accept that AI can do it better. It can be easy to see AI as a threat, but I've come to see it as leverage to accomplish more than ever before.
