Bad news for coders?

rsaeon said:
I'm regularly using chatgpt to formulate php code and sql queries for random webapps I want to make. It's great for figuring out syntax since I have no formal training with code.

I love being able to ask simple questions like "I want the last unread message from every user who messaged in the last 30 days and I want a count of all users and all messages in the same query" and then trying to figure what the sql is actually doing. And then asking it to split it into two queries because I need my sanity in my older years.

I probably would've made the next WordPress if I had this twenty years ago.
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Now, this is the kind of jobs/freelancing that AI will replace. If I am creating basic apps or programs by taking help from AI, AI can handle it end to end for simple apps in the future because the code is already there in public repos.
 
Skilled ones will never run out of jobs. But AI will reduce opportunities and hence newer jobs. There will be a new set of AI related jobs but who knows at what scale they will fill the job market.

I find some things are just easier to ask chatgpt. My friend today told me he can ask ChatGpt to take a pic, crop, enhance, make it 4 of the pic in a row and spit out output for printing passport photos with the free version of chatgpt. In this use case, AI is good.

But replacing humans and not filling it with leisure time or other jobs will be painful for most of us.
 
I can definitely say GitHub Copilot has increased my efficiency by at least 50% (versus not using any code-block-prediction tools).

Want to write complex logic blocks to implement your logic? Ask Copilot!
I would say 80% of the code I submit, isn't typed by me, but rather generated or copy-pasted.
I visit stackoverflow and google less frequently as well.
 
If I may share my 2 cents here. Profession wise, I'm not a programmer. I'm a hobbyist (albeit with a degree in CS that i finished over 10-11 years ago).
What ChatGPT has done for many people outside of the core coding profession, including me, is that it has lowered the entry barrier by quite a margin.

And it'll do what more affordable cameras (mirrorless and mobiles) did to video, and what digital photography did to photographers.

Yes, the experts in each of these fields still make good money, but a huge chunk in the middle got wiped out. Because ease of doing something will lead to competitiveness. And unless it's hard cutting edge tech (like someone mentioned Vision Pro & AR), that should exert a downward pressure on prices.

The reason is just that most businesses don't need something great or perfect. They just need something that works for their needs. And AI helps one get there fast.

Before Chat GPT, I was just about comfortable with python. And now, in the last weekend, I just started coding in Flutter with ChatGPT and a 2 hour tutorial video. Will my code be as efficient/beautiful as that of a professional? No. But it works. And am able to churn through iterations to get it to a place where it does what I need to.
 
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