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The analogy of thinking of coding AI like it's chess AI is terrible. If chess AI was at the level of coding AI, it wouldn't win a single game.

This kind of thinking is actually a big reason why execs are being misinformed into overestimating LLM abilities.

LLM coding agents alone are not good enough to replace any single developer. They only make a developer x% faster. That dev who is now x% faster may then allow you to lay off another dev. That is a subtle yet critical difference.

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I like the chess analogy as it answer the question: why can't i see those gain?

To adress your point, let's try another one analogy. Imagine secreterial assistants, discussing their risk of been replaced by computers in the 80s. They would think: someone still need to type those letters, sit next to that phone and make those appointments, I am safe. Computers won't replace me.

It is not that AI will do all of your tasks and replace you. It is that your role as a specialist in software development won't be necessary most of the time (someone will do that, and that person won't call themselves a programmer).

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Secretarial assistant as a profession is still very alive, and the title has been inflated to stratospheric heights (and compensation): "Chief of Staff"
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