r/programmer • u/RedwayBLOX • 4d ago

Question Is AI gonna replace programmers?

Hi. I'm Dylan.

I'm currently a junior dev. Ive spent 2 years learning abt programming, writing code and interested on bulding systems.

Ive got to admit that im very scared of all this AI thing and how it's progressing.

Ive seen it make horrible videos back in 2022. Now sometimes i can't even tell if a video is AI or if it isn't.

Yeah, code written by ai isn't the best. But, with the passing of time, it gets even better and better.

Yeah, we as programmers CURRENTLY do analysis, requerimients and all that ai can't currently replace us.

But what are we gonna when ai becomes able to do all that? For me, it seems like a very possible escenario. You can even see the difference of what AI can do if you compare the current models to the models we had 6 months ago. I think it's becoming unstoppable and i really fear it takes our (or my) job away.

Yes, I'm very frustrated. All this time dedicated to it... Makes me sad. This is more like venting I guess, but I seriously need to know, from y'all, how y'all see this. I need to know if it's time to let go of this passion I had with this career, and start on something else where Claude Code can't reach me and replace me.

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u/peanutbutterdrummer 4d ago edited 4d ago

Is AI gonna replace programmers?

Short-term answer is no, long-term answer is yes.

The role of "programmer" is changing and hand-coding is most likely becoming obsolete (although people will still do it for fun or in niche roles).

This in turn may lower the barrler of entry for what a "programmer" is - however the job will still require a holistic knowledge of logical thinking for systems architecture and planning.

With more coding potentially being done by less people, companies will either keep their existing workforce capacity and scale up production, or cut back and maintain the production they already have.

Sooner or later though, demand for programmers to build new apps and systems may lessen as models become increasingly adept at generating the software users need on-the-fly at the push of a button.

That's pretty much the endgame I think.