‘Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.’
Study computer science if you like it, it’s never been about making good ‘coders’ or software engineers.
I don’t think the number of software engineers will ever drop to zero, but the days of ‘learn to code’ to get a high paying job guaranteed are definitely over.
They’re not over yet but they definitely have an uncertain future.
LMAO. Are you a CEO? “Programming is unnecessary, AI will do everything”.
I don’t know how to break this to people but the vast majority of coding is boilerplate projects to solve trivial problems. Those jobs are disappearing (and have for years), what still exists is applying rigourous methods of computer science to solve specialised problems.
I’ve been writing code as a primary hobby and then as a profession for 26 years. The boilerplate has never been the bulk of any of my work, and we’ve had excellent tooling to eliminate the actual boilerplate for decades.
The work has always been the specialized parts, and the fun part of software dev work is that so much of it is bespoke and creative and unique beyond the grasp of the stochastic parrots.
Even if AI will turn out to be great method for programming, it will replace humans in programming. There will be no place left for human programmers.
Otherwise, and when AI turn out to be a massive hype, it will lead to huge bubble burst which will take lots of tech companies with it. There will be no demand for software for a while, as we did not need much in the first place.
Either way, programming as a career is fucked.
If AI can’t improve itself then humans are needed to improve it. If AI can improve itself we have reached a technological singularity and mankind will end in a matter of years
If the AI bubble bursts, it will take everything with it, because the global economy is currently single-handedly kept afloat by financial bullshit and ponzi scheme circular investments into AI.
So when (not if) the AI bubble bursts, we are all gonna be fucked anyways. I guess the best advice would be to learn how to live with less (learn how to cook, don’t order food or use precooked meals, stop buying your stupid AI tokens, buy used etc.) and either study what you interested in (even if it is computer science) or if you aren’t interested in studying or can’t afford it, find another job (ideally one, that fullfills you and can keep you afloat).
There is no “ideal” job, that will guarantee you a stable future, so the best strategy is to just do what you are interested in.
Geoffrey Challen, a computer scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, plans to offer a new course this fall in which he will teach students to develop software “without writing, reading, debugging, or viewing a single line of code,” he told me.
Is that meant to say reviewing? Either way, I can’t see how this would lead to good results, even with a comprehensive test suite. Security? Scalability? Maintainability?
I use LLMs to automate boring tasks or generate starting points, but in my experience, i can’t trust them to generate code that I’d be proud to share. If I use the code they spit out, I’m always adapting or rewriting it to meet my standards. I find they better at explaining code than generating it… Anyway…
How will these students evaluate if the code they have generated is up to scratch?
You kind of have to have been a good coder to know what good code looks like.
I know, I know, another AI will be used to review the code…
Something feels a bit off here to me.
I’m sure I will be flamed.
There was a post on here awhile back about a Japanese kids program teaching CS principles without a computer, using real-world examples. Maybe its something like that?
Not even reading code? 🤣
A vibe coding class then?
So software development by magic - makes sense.
i’d say 2000-2002 pre and right after com bubble was a better time
Oh I was pissed when the bubble burst right before I graduated from high school
But we’re on the precipice of a new era when learning to develop software will be easier than ever, opening the door to students who might not otherwise have chosen to study computing. Perhaps a new golden age of CS education has only just begun.
It is good to have those students. They can fill roles in sales and customer relations and be the link to the actual software. These students won’t be writing too much software besides some small, internal tools.
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