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It’s a scary question. And the ripple effect of the answer will be felt all over the world, in every industry and sector. We've already got AI agents and AI translators.
But to understand the greater implications, we must first examine what is happening right now at ground zero of the AI revolution. What’s going on in tech?
There Never Was a Paradigm
So, will human beings still write code in 10 years? In short: yes, we will. Though we’re seeing AI coders in all sorts of different industries, I suppose it might offer some comfort to know that some human beings still have enough utility to cling to our jobs in the brave new world that’s slowly becoming reality. But there’s a longer, hopefully more interesting answer to the question that goes all the way back to the beginning.
Coding has always been about translating our human ideas into instructions for machines. It's pretty straightforward. The only variables that have changed are the tools we choose to use. Programmers started out using punch cards, then eventually developed high-level languages, and until recently, we’d grown accustomed to using visual builders. Now, development is AI-assisted. So the paradigm was always shifting.
How Will the Job Change?
At this moment in time, writing code feels a lot like a craftman's job. It's hands on and straightforward. But what about in, say, 10 years’ time? In my opinion, it’ll feel more like directing. Instead of asking, “how should I write down this function?”, devs will be thinking “what should this system do?”. The syntax? That’ll all be taken care of by the machine.
So engineers won’t just become obsolete overnight. Far from it; instead, we can expect a big change in overall skillset. Memorising syntax will soon be toally irrelevant. Instead, systems thinking and architecture will become areas of focus and give human engineers the edge. Anyone can ask AI to put together a form, but there aren't many who can put together scalable systems that are secure.
But it still means that we will all need to adapt. The future of coding won't just apply to the tech giants of Silicon Valley; it’ll affect programmers all over the world, from freelancers in Berlin, to web developers in Manchester, and startups in Seoul. It’s a ‘sink or swim’ moment for a lot of professionals out there, where they can either improve their knowledge of architecture, systems thinking, and security, or stick to coding and compete directly with workers that doesn’t take holidays, lunch breaks, or sleep. There will be a huge change in how we think of devs, as they'll go from “people who write code” to ‘people who create systems”.
Closing Thoughts
If I’m wrong, and we’re all just rearranging the decking ahead of the inevitable AI apocalypse, then it’s been good, folks. Perhaps coders will join the rest of us in the pits as we all spend 12 hours a day mining for resources that can feed the vast data centre empire, as planet Earth eats itself into an early grave.
