coding as a job is probably going to be entirely ai-assisted if not just full vibecoding in a few years
i don’t want to live that life as an income source
so i have like 1-2 years to learn 3d art or anything at all
but it’s so hard to focus on learning when i also am trying to survive

i wish i knew how to course correct

this is a public cry for help if anyone has any suggestions i’m open

@ada what makes you think this? the output of ai code isn’t anything particularly good right now, nor does it make coders faster.

@benpate I don’t fear it, I just don’t like it. I like coding, I don’t want to spend all my time reviewing AI code.

@shroomie because almost every single job posting put online in the last 90 days has AI requirements

@ada i mean yeah but i don’t think that ai is going to have super great longevity

@shroomie @ada i mean the tech industry as a whole is going to go to shit pretty soon once the bubble pops and i don't want to find out how bad that ends up being which is why i'm trying to find something else to do

@shroomie it either stays or the entire tech sector evaporates.

@niko @ada yeah that outlook makes sense

@ada you could always become a mercenary. assassinations are in vogue these days

@shroomie @ada

open source coder by day - billionaire assassin by night

"That sounds like a weird job combo."

"It's not. You would be surprised..."

@benpate @ada
>don't fear the tech

it's only significantly accelerating climate change with its data centers, causing consumer hardware and electricity prices to skyrocket, creating the biggest stock market bubble in history, mass plagiarizing the entire internet including artists, writers and programmers and has been shown to confidently present incorrect & hallucinated results in any situation with no way to prevent it. nothing to fear there, I'm sure it will be fine

@ada @shroomie

AI isn't the first hype. And it won't be the last.

There were times when the future was "wiring components together".
Or turning everything to a "service-oriented architecture".
Or "orchestrating services".
Or "doing everything in JavaScript. Because JavaScript is the future, trust me bro. Backend is becoming frontend, bro."

The most compelling argument for why AI doesn't deliver in software developement I read so far had nothing to do with ROI of companies etc.

It was about all the news apps the 10x developers where churning out. Well, actually, the lack of it.
Because if that vibe stuff really worked, we would see an increase of applications on the web, in app stores, on GitHub and Codeberg.
Instead: Crickets.

@wakame @shroomie it might be the last if you factor in how many companies have all of their money tangled up in it

they’re selling the shovels and also digging.

@wakame @shroomie the dotcom bubble caused little under half of all tech companies to default, the ai bubble is “significantly” larger and riskier than the dotcom bubble, extending to the rest of the dow and nasdaq due to how the economy is behaving right now.

@ada @wakame i’m so excited for everything to die :grine:

@shroomie @ada

After that, we will still need developers.

So far, most software companies produced software that was "good enough". The ones that didn't don't exist anymore.

Companies that rely on cutting corners to develop software will either see their customers voting with their feet...
...or there will at some point a better definition of what constitutes "quality" and what "gross negligence" means in terms of selling software.

Everyone is excited (or disgusted) at the moment about the capabilities of AI. It will take 2-3 years for laws to catch up.

I am pretty sure that we will enter the next AI winter soon, where even uttering that word will give you the stink eye.

@wakame @shroomie do we need developers or do we need people that can massage an llm

does anyone make pcbs by hand anymore? does anyone commercially hand forge steel or cut wood?

like for a hobby or personal or small shop sure, but as a job, career you have to use automation.

@wakame @shroomie capitalism and consumerism favors mass production heavily over finesse and quality.

@ada @shroomie

If there was a way to replace developers with computers/programs, they would definitely do so.

But there isn't. At best, you can replace a junior dev. But the AI one will never evolve in to a senor dev, so it's a net loss for the company to use an AI.

As for quality: Quality is super important. Because bad quality is the first step to a lawsuit.

That's why every box of cookies produced goes through a metal detector thing. That's why temperatures of commercial cooling transports are logged. Why car parts are X-rayed after certain steps.

Okay, if someone is working at a smaller web design company churning out standard websites, there is likely not much going on regarding software security.

But if you look at the larger moving parts: Software companies already have to prove to larger customers that they follow certain standards regarding information security, certain development practices, etc.
These demands will increase, and they will enforce a certain level of quality.

@ada my suggestion is go totally outside the industry and be one tech person in an otherwise unrelated (and value aligned) industry. The database maintenance person for a worker's union, the IT helpdesk/escalation person for an animal rights org, digital tools developer for a volunteer fire department, etc.

I know none of these are strictly your area, but as far as animal carers and firefighters are concerned 'computer person' is basically one role. And once you're in it, you're the expert on all things computer. If you say AI is unsuitable for use on the fireground, it is. You are The Computer Person.

@ada I used to work with a lawyer at a union (they just happened to be the kind of worker the union represented and also a lawyer). Their job was basically to be the only law person within 100km of any situation. They weren't a consultant, they did regular admin work with everyone else, but everything law related and every law related question was on them. They were they happiest and loveliest lawyer I ever knew and I actually should message them just to say hi.

We had several other mid-career professionals doing similar things. We often spoke about how we needed this person but [computer generalist].

@ada @wakame @shroomie

My city is known for having a strong tech sector, so when the AI bubble pops my city will have a recession so severe that it makes 2008 look like child's play. I also hate LLMs and AI but also oh god so many people are going to starve here, including people that have nothing to do with tech. It's the ugliest catch-22 you could think of.