AI is set to disrupt programming, but not all programmers will be equally impacted.
Replit CEO Amjad Masad recently shared his perspective on the future of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its impact on the software development landscape. His insights are particularly intriguing, given his position at the helm of a company that’s building collaborative coding tools and is deeply involved in the AI space. In essence, Masad argues that while AGI might be able to replicate the tasks of a “code monkey,” those who leverage AI as a tool and focus on higher-level thinking will not only survive but thrive.
“That definition of AGI at a lot of these companies is doing economically useful activities in front of a computer, right? It’s like a remote worker is what AGI is. I feel like we’re going to get there,” he said.
“But if I have a remote worker, I’m going to create 100 more workers and implement all my ideas. It’s a tool. It’s useful for me,” he added.
“Is it going to replace me? Well, if I am a code monkey, it’s got to replace me. But if I see my place in the world as someone who can generate ideas and create products and services because I understand what people want and how the economy works and all of that, I think… I think that’s still irreplaceable,” he said.
Masad’s analogy of AGI as a “remote worker” is a powerful one. It highlights the potential for amplification of human capabilities. Just as a manager leverages a team of remote workers to achieve more than they could alone, developers can leverage AI to multiply their productivity and bring more ideas to fruition. The key takeaway is that AI, in its current trajectory, is more of an advanced tool than a sentient replacement for human ingenuity.
Masad has, like other tech leaders, been bullish about how AI will contribute to programming. He’s said that AI is getting so good at programming it’s more important now to learn how to think as opposed to learning to code, and that AI will be able to replicate a software engineer’s job by 2027. Other tech leaders have made similar predictions. But Masad seems to be saying that if people have ideas and are able to design and make products, they will likely not be replaced with AI, but will transform themselves into even more successful coders and employees. It remains to be seen how these issues play out, but it does appear that it might be more valuable to be a generalist in the coming years as opposed to being a pure ‘code monkey’ programmer.