/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22963970/VRG_ILLO_4851_10_Year_ai.jpg "Programmers are excited about the emergence of ChatGPT as it makes their jobs easier and helps people find lucrative jobs in technology.")
© Robyn Phelps / Insider ChatGPT will not replace programmers. Instead, programmers use this technique because it makes their work faster and easier. Robin Phelps / Insider
- People are worried about their jobs as ChatGPT and AI are slowly being replaced by workers.
- But one group of workers sees ChatGPT as good for their industry: programmers.
- Programmers say that artificial intelligence speeds up their work and creates new jobs.
The threat of automation is an epidemic in the dark for many workers. Now that people have seen what ChatGPT can do, the fear of losing their jobs to AI has created a new situation for many employees.
An AI could write a children's book, take over a bank role, or let someone else take your place at work. In fact, it's becoming increasingly clear that people need to be aware of AI if they want to engage.
Well, not everyone feels that way.
At least one group of techs is excited about ChatGPT and AI-powered apps for what—and maybe who—they could bring to their profession.
Programmers are happy that advances in automation make them more efficient and allow them to write better code. According to industry insiders, what's most exciting is that tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot are removing much of the hassle of learning to code from scratch and allowing more people to pursue lucrative careers in coding. It will also have the added benefit of addressing the tech industry's ongoing talent crisis.
"Developers, DevOps engineers, and platform architects want to automate as many mundane tasks as possible and free them up for higher-level thinking," said Adam Frank, senior vice president of products for software deployment at Startup Armory. "Artificial intelligence can help automate many of these everyday tasks."
AI levels the playing field for programmers
Professional programmers of all skill levels rarely code in a vacuum: sites like Stack Overflow connect programmers to help solve problems; The joke of the industry is that a big part of learning to code is just mastering copy and paste.
The arrival of ChatGPT is an extension of this dynamic, providing bots that can help you create the code you need instantly (sometimes for bad use).
For novice programmers, this alone removes one of the biggest barriers to entry and helps them keep up with more experienced programmers by helping them on their way to solving specific problems.
There's still a place for human programmers to shine, says Frank at Armory. AI provides programmers with all the pieces they might need, but programmers are responsible for putting them together in a meaningful way.
“Humans have a level of creativity and emotion that is still a long way from what AI experiences,” said Frank. "This level of human creativity, passion and understanding allows us to create personalized experiences for the people who use our products as human beings."
This, in turn, is an attractive option for more experienced developers, says Frank. Boredom is automatic, it gives them an opportunity to be more creative and really differentiate themselves from the competition.
New jobs are waiting
Before ChatGPT caught OpenAI's attention, computer engineers and software developers were already hot commodities, but with the recent massive layoffs in the tech space, it feels like a programmer isn't what it seems.
People are starting to believe that ChatGPT's ability to run code means the end of the human programmer. Not true, say experts. But the technology industry is changing.
said Sagar Patel, vice president of engineering at Sandpaper.
At the same time, the developer's work may vary in the medium to long term. ChatGPT and the like are getting smarter and better at writing code by the day, which likely means fewer engineers to do the dirty work. At the same time, there is a search for professionals who can monitor, maintain and compile this code into a working product, which means that the skills involved will be invaluable for a long time.
Programmers, of course, helped usher in the current wave of artificial intelligence. So if people are worried about programmers going out of business, they are wrong. Instead, programmers simply make sure their skills are as in demand as ever.
