Can an AI completely replace a programmer?
My colleague says that in a couple of years the profession of programmer will disappear because ChatGPT and Copilot write code better. Is that true or an exaggeration?
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To be honest, that's an exaggeration 😄 Yeah, neural networks write code and help speed up development, that's a fact. I sometimes ask ChatGPT for help with routine tasks myself, like when I was translating technical documentation. But here's the thing: a neural network generates code based on what's already out there on the internet. It can't come up with the architecture for a big project, can't anticipate all the edge cases, doesn't understand context and business requirements the way a human does. Most of the time, generated code needs serious reworking, you have to hunt for bugs and optimize it for specific conditions.
In my opinion, what'll happen is more of a transformation of the profession than its disappearance. Programmers who learn to work effectively with neural networks and use them as a tool will be in higher demand. And routine work like copying code from Stack Overflow or writing yet another CRUD app could actually become a thing of the past. The skills requirements will change, but you'll still need people who can think, make architectural decisions and take responsibility for the results. It's not a replacement, it's more like an evolution of the profession.
Your colleague is confusing a tool with a profession. Neural networks handle repetitive code perfectly well - basic CRUD operations, simple algorithms, refactoring - but people were saying the exact same thing about frameworks and ready-made libraries ten years ago. The profession evolves, it doesn't disappear.
The key thing a neural network can't do is figure out what needs to be written in the first place. Who determines the project architecture, who untangles the business requirements that contradict each other half the time? Who catches a bug in production when the neural network just spit out whatever came first? A programmer isn't someone who types code, they're someone who solves problems and makes decisions. Code is just the way to implement them. By analogy: if I ask ChatGPT to make a dress pattern, that doesn't mean tailors will disappear. Because you need to know what pattern you actually need, how to adapt it for a specific person, how to sew the sleeve so it doesn't pucker.
The real problem might be something else - demand for junior programmers could drop, since companies could get by with fewer people on simple tasks. That's a reshuffling of the profession, not its disappearance. I'd tell your colleague to develop toward systems thinking, architecture, client interaction - that's what the neural network won't take away.
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