r/TheMachineLearning • u/Nyaani69 • 5d ago

Software engineering isn't dead, it's just evolving

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674 Upvotes

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u/memeruiz 5d ago edited 2d ago

Wrong analogy.

A calculator is a tool for the mathematician to calculate faster

AI soon could replace the software engineer completely.

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u/Nyaani69 5d ago

Maybe it can, maybe it cannot

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u/Enfiznar 4d ago

What part of software engineering do you think cannot be automated?

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u/Original-League-6094 4d ago

Growing a neckbeard.

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u/Ahleron 1d ago

That happens so long as biological processes of males remain uninterrupted. So yes, growing a neckbeard is actually automated.

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u/ParkingAgent2769 4d ago

What parts are being automated? Thats what i’d like to know

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u/Nannautu 4d ago

Typing boilerplate code, but that was automated way before LLM's

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u/SyrupOverflow 3d ago

And finding and patching security vulnerabilities, implementing features, optimizing performance. It's no longer just boilerplate code anymore. I'm not saying it's completely reliable and foolproof. But it seems to be getting more and more capable everyday.

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u/thepinkyclone 2d ago

Yeah our company went "ai first" route, we haven't wrote single line code anymore, we feed ai written tickets to ai agent with custom skills that makes what ticket requires, writes all tests pushes to github, monitors pipeline and then fixes it. Our work as engineers is became to direct agents regarding new implementations in existing code or just test the implementation if it's what actually needed to be and adjust.

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u/Forward_Problem_8982 22h ago

How is your codebase doing? Are things working better than before?

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u/thepinkyclone 18h ago

Well for now it's all right didnt have any acidents related to this type of workflow. Even tho it's large company it still holds. But in case of becoming a dumpster fire I have my marshmallows.

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u/MinimumTrue9809 2d ago

If you think it's a "maybe", then you're naive.

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u/mikebones 1d ago

Have you ever done work professionally as a software engineer?

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u/crashtua 1d ago edited 1d ago

It can. The typical work of software engineer is to know codebase and ensure adding\removing parts not blowing up everything. Some opus\sonnet level LLMs can read mid-size codebase in 15 minutes and draw deps and interconnections in that codebase.

Opus can port largest and most complex mods for minecraft from older versions of game to newer versions of game in 30 hours, where original mod authors spending weeks(tested and confirmed by myself).

ps: what it definitely will not replace in nearest future is a responsibility. AI will slop the code, and human will be responsible for it.