AI Programming: Will Programmers Lose Their Jobs?

As a programmer, I'd like to share my feelings about AI programming.

Let me sum it up with a few keywords: interesting, exciting, useful, and scary.

In 2015, when I was in college, I knew nothing about computers. There was no computer at home. My first computer was a laptop I bought for 3,000 yuan in the second semester of my freshman year, and I used it until I graduated from college.

Taking professional courses was like listening to a foreign language. What were C, C++, HTML, Java, PHP, Python, data structures, and algorithm courses?

I simply couldn't understand computer languages or computer thinking. Why did things have to be done this way? Why did they have to be executed step by step? It seemed so stupid.

It took me about a year and a half to get used to this way of thinking. It was not until my sophomore year that I gradually understood.

How did I understand? There's no secret. It's just practice makes perfect. I typed out the programs letter by letter. Programs don't lie. If it works, it works. If it's right, it's right. If it's wrong, it's wrong.

The more I wrote, the more I understood how these things worked.

Computer languages can be understood in human language, but when you translate them, you'll find them extremely stupid, cumbersome, troublesome, and rigid.

Let's get back to the point. It may take a college student 1 - 2 years, or even 2 - 3 years, to learn programming from scratch. But with the help of AI, an ordinary person can get AI to achieve the same thing in just a few minutes by giving a single instruction.

For more complex functions, it may take a few hours. You need to be proficient in using AI and be able to make your own modifications.

For even more complex tasks, it depends on personal talent. It could take weeks or 1 - 2 months.

Currently, AI programming can solve small problems, small functions, and single functions. It's still a bit lacking in developing complete projects, or rather, no one dares to use it yet. But it's already very powerful.

In my own work, I also use AI to write some functions and then make some modifications myself.

That's the interesting, exciting, and useful part.

For example, I'm not very good at front - end development, such as HTML and JS. So I let AI write the code. Of course, the problem lies in debugging.

If you're very good at this, you can fine - tune the code to get the exact effect you want. But when you ask AI to make changes, there's always a bit of a deviation.

So, what's the scary part? Just like others, it's about being replaced.

Here, being replaced doesn't mean completely. It means a reduction in demand.

Although computers are based on 0s and 1s, the real world is not that simple. The reduction in job demand is a major crisis.

However, a crisis contains both danger and opportunity. Many AI - related jobs have emerged.

Many companies are introducing various AI tools and applications for their employees to use. Some even keep track of how often employees use AI.

I've mentioned that there are two time windows for people in the workplace when it comes to AI.

1. You're ahead of the company.
2. You're ahead of others.

If you're ahead of the company and start using AI first, it will improve your competitiveness in the workplace and make your work much easier.

If you're ahead of others, it also means you'll have an edge.

Different industries have different sensitivities to cutting - edge technologies. Some companies even need to provide AI training for their employees, which is commonly known as corporate training.

Internet companies generally keep up with the trend very quickly. For example, since GPT emerged in 2023, my company has been following it, researching it, and using it internally.

But some industries still haven't realized the importance of AI. This is also a time window.

However, once companies catch up, it's about who can use AI better than others.

Finally, here's a harsh truth.

Without production resources, no matter how efficient you are and how well you can use AI, it's all in vain.

Building digital assets and production resources for yourself is what you should do in the era of AI.

小路每日读书写作 2025.06.04【day639】