AI And Developers: How Generative AI Is Changing The Way Developers Work

At this point, most people have heard about ChatGPT, the large language model artificial intelligence chatbot recently realized by OpenAI. Tons of people have made content about it. I recently posted an article about it where I explained ChatGPT and its background and how it is working magical and mind blowing things.

There’s been a lot of concern from the programming community about the capabilities of ChatGPT and all other AI tools and how they are coming after programmers' jobs.

Because ChatGPT and other AI tools are producing code, you ask them to write code and they generate code for you, which sounds scary. Because developers normally write a lot of code and if there is a machine that can do it, what are the developers going to be doing in the next couple of years? In this article, let’s go deeper into this topic and talk about what exactly is going on here and whether developers and software companies need to be concerned. 

The reason why people worry about this though is that, for example, this user on Twitter demonstrated that he created a tool where you could type in what you wanted for a website and generate code for that. It would generate the JSX which is react code for that and he demonstrates many exciting scenarios. This brings us to our initial question again.

Can AI Replace Developers?

The answer is no.
Since professional programmers and code bases have strict coding standards like naming styles and coding conventions that programmers follow to maintain some consistency and cleanliness to the code base for maintainability purposes. So if a random AI program came in and just spilled out a bunch of code that works and looks okay, but it’s not following any of the coding styles and conventions then it’s just not going to be workable and the code would be rejected that mostly have to be rewritten.

It probably wouldn’t even be using the internal proprietary framework works and libraries and APIs and the scalability of frameworks that a lot of professional companies are using these days. For example, the Facebook iOS app is not written in any standard coding style that ChatGPT would understand. It's written in a component kit which is a kind of this library that Facebook just invented and is open source but ChatGPT wouldn’t follow those coding styles. So for this part, I would say programmers' jobs are safe.

 As it is an AI language model, I believe that while ChatGPT has the potential to significantly streamline the development process, it cannot fully replace developers. ChatGPT's capabilities include natural language processing, machine learning, and data analysis, which can automate some tasks in the software development process. However, there are certain tasks that still require human intervention and decision-making, such as design, architecture, and problem-solving.

ChatGPT's natural language processing capabilities enable it to understand and process large amounts of data, making it a valuable tool for software development. ChatGPT can assist developers in tasks such as code analysis, debugging, and optimization, which can save time and reduce human error. For example, it can analyze code and suggest optimizations that can improve performance, making it easier for developers to identify and resolve issues in the code.

However, there are certain tasks that require human intuition and creativity that ChatGPT cannot replicate. For example, designing a user interface requires an understanding of user behavior and preferences, as well as the ability to create visually appealing and intuitive designs. This requires a level of creativity and intuition. Similarly, architecture decisions require a deep understanding of the system and its requirements, as well as the ability to make informed decisions based on that understanding.

Furthermore, ChatGPT's abilities are limited by the data it is trained on. While ChatGPT can learn from large datasets, it cannot replace the knowledge and expertise of human developers with years of experience and expertise in their fields. Developers can apply their knowledge and experience to create innovative solutions to complex problems, something that ChatGPT cannot (yet) replicate either.

What should developers do to keep up with this new technology?

To keep up with this new technology, developers and IT companies should focus on developing skills in areas where AI is less likely to replace human developers, such as problem-solving, creative thinking, and interpersonal communication. They should also work on becoming familiar with AI and machine learning techniques and identifying opportunities to use them to enhance their work.

Conclusion

AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are transforming the software development process. They are not, however, intended to replace human skill, but rather to supplement and enhance it. While AI can help developers in many ways, it cannot totally replace the unique traits that human developers provide, such as creativity, intuition, and specialized knowledge. The capacity of developers and IT organizations to adopt AI technology and effectively integrate it into their work while recognizing and appreciating the important role of human developers in the process is critical to their future success and competitiveness.