Will AI Replace Software Developers? A Closer Look

This article explores the evolution of software development from the dot-com era to the current age of AI. It highlights how the scarcity of developers during the early internet boom was addressed over time and parallels the rise of social media with shifts in marketing strategies. The piece introduces the concept of "software development containment," akin to social media marketing techniques, where AI tools and shared SDKs streamline the development process. It concludes that while AI will simplify software creation, it will also open up opportunities for domain experts and no-code/low-code solutions.

6/5/20242 min read

The Dot-Com Era: A Scarcity of Developers

In recent years, many developers have wondered if AI will replace them. To understand this, let’s rewind to the dot-com era. When companies began adopting dot-com products, there was a scarcity of software developers. Countries eventually produced enough developers to fill this gap, and we saw cycles of technological advancements, especially with social media and cloud technologies.

The Rise of Social Media: A Shift in Marketing

During the social media boom, marketing and sales departments, which once relied heavily on manual labor, began using social media to reach their audience more effectively. Before social media, companies struggled to predict consumer behavior. However, social media allowed companies to create detailed profiles of users, which I call "social media containership marketing." This technique grouped users into specific audiences, enabling targeted advertising.

Applying Containment to Software Development

Similarly, the same containment concept is now being applied to software development. For decades, developers have shared techniques, code snippets, and open-source projects. With AI, this vast amount of data has been fed into large language models (LLMs), resulting in several generative AI tools to assist developers. Though not widely adopted yet, this is poised to change.

The Role of SDKs and Open-Source Projects

Consider SDKs, plugins, and apps. Many private companies hire developers to create SDKs, but these are often kept in-house. However, open-source projects share their SDKs freely. With AI, we will see more SDKs shared across companies, which I term as "software development containment." Similar to social media marketing, AI can use these SDKs to streamline software creation.

The Future of Software Development with AI

All that’s needed are the requirements from product owners, managers, or senior developers. These individuals can use AI tools to develop complete software solutions. The big question is whether these AI-generated software solutions will be reliable for production environments. While current efforts focus on AI-assisted development, future solutions will address software testing, creating opportunities for QA engineers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, yes, AI can make software development easier by leveraging foolproof codes, snippets, SDKs, and plugins. This shift will empower domain experts like product owners, managers, and senior developers to drive software development. It will also democratize software creation, allowing anyone to develop software, and open opportunities for no-code/low-code solutions and companies specializing in testing tools.