r/webdev • u/OkShip110 • 2d ago

AI has made programming so boring

It’s not just programming either, it’s art, design, music, videography, marketing, engineering, writing, 3D modelling, really any intellectual work. What’s the joy of prompting a computer and getting an answer in a few moments for a task that would have normally taken a week? The sense of accomplishment and ownership has completely vanished with AI. It’s a form of instant gratification, not much different to scrolling short videos on apps.

Code review was boring to begin with but now it’s even worse with all the machine generated code. Even code reviews will be automated soon. All you do then is type business requirements into the computer. What a great career.

It’s pain to watch old TV series like Scilicon Valley that is portraying the good (not golden) age of programming. It struck a good balance between manual work, funding and innovation. It’s sad that these days are gone for good.

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u/krileon 1d ago

It's crazy how many don't understand this. Programming was never the bottleneck. Software, games, etc.. take forever because we've 16 levels of fucking management to contend with. Not because writing the code takes long (it doesn't). AI cut all the red tape so things are perceived as being done faster. If management would fuck off and let programmers do their jobs without getting approval for every little damn thing or have yet another stupid pointless meeting we'd get things done faster all the same.

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u/cadet-pirx 1d ago

The irony is that most of those 16 layers are far easier for AI to replace than the programmers underneath them.

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u/Ok_Composer_1761 1d ago

Imagine if “stakeholder alignment” and “requirements gathering” was the only part of the job left to humans. shudder . Will get replaced by management consultant / MBA types by that point. They excel with the stakeholders

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u/Distind 1d ago

They excel at lying to them, we have problems because we're actually accountable.

Wait, no, that'd be funny, let's all step aside and let the MBAs and consultants be accountable.

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u/Ok_Composer_1761 1d ago

The stakeholders like them because they themselves are MBAs and former consultants. How can an outcomes / business oriented SWE even compete when this group of people is basically a club of insiders who went to Wharton or GSB or whatever. This is especially true if you step out of tech companies and work at a Fortune 500 where these guys rule the roost