Is it possible that programmers engineer AI programs to replace themselves and effectively put themselves out of a job? With the emergence of Devin, the world's first AI engineer, such a scenario might soon unfold.
Recently, there has been heated debate over whether the AI era still needs programmers. Leading figures in the industry such as Robin Li and Zhou Hongyi have engaged in discussions, each expressing their own opinions. Will there still be programmers in the AI era?
The Birth of the World's First AI Engineer
Robin Li, Chairman and CEO of Baidu, recently stated that there won't be a profession called "programmer" in the future because anyone who can speak will possess the abilities of a programmer. He remarked, "In the future, there will only be two programming languages left: one called English and the other called Chinese."
Many AI experts are sharing the coding process of AI programmers on social platforms. Screenshots show that with the development of large models, AI capabilities are becoming increasingly astounding, to the point where even programming can be automated. Recently, there's been news of the birth of the world's first AI software engineer named Devin. Devin possesses full-stack skills, capable of cloud deployment, low-level coding, bug fixing, and even planning and executing complex engineering tasks requiring thousands of decisions.
"The emergence of the first AI engineer looks promising. What's impressive is that Devin can stand out in interviews at top AI companies and successfully complete tasks," shared an AI expert on social media. Several videos of Devin programming have also been circulating on the internet.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently remarked, "In the future, we will all be programming computation, and children are doing amazing things with AI. They don't know how to code; they just converse with ChatGPT, which then feeds back the correct programming methods for this and that. So, AI and future communication with humans are no different. This is the great contribution of the computer science industry to the world, narrowing the technological gap."
It has been learned from HuntStar that they are also about to launch an innovative product that could change the way programmers work. Traditional programming requires programmers to have profound coding skills, but HuntStar's AI code generator simplifies this process, allowing users to simply input prompts and generate the required code efficiently.
Will programmers disappear completely?
Regarding whether programmers are needed in the AI era, Zhou Hongyi, the founder of 360 Group, has a different opinion. He believes that the AI era will require even more programmers. "In the future, computer specialties and the programmer industry are still sunrise industries, the most promising industries. This trend will not weaken in the next five to ten years."
Google co-founder Sergey Brin also stated recently that for current large language models, programming might be one of the most challenging tasks. "We cannot predict the future direction of AI entirely. AI seems to affect many professions, including graphic designers, customer managers, doctors, industry executives, etc., so I don't think whether programmers should be singled out for discussion."
Zhou Hongyi also mentioned that the future world will be redefined by software, requiring more computer experts and programmers to realize it. "The future must be brought by interdisciplinary, cross-domain talents with more imagination and impact. The AI era needs more computer experts and programmers, and they may have the most say in various industries."
It's worth noting that currently, programmers are still in high demand. Many internet "giants" are offering lucrative salaries, with software engineers often earning tens of thousands per month, especially talents in AI and cloud computing.
A report released by Zhaopin shows that the IT internet industry remains a hot spot for job seekers. In terms of occupations, in the second week after the Spring Festival, frontend development, software development, and test engineers saw the highest growth in application volume. Technical positions such as data engineers, mobile developers, AI engineers, and chip engineers also made it to the top 20 list with relatively fast growth rates.
Although the intensity of competition between the two sides is not yet apparent, some netizens have already pointed out the "advantages" of AI programmers: "Setting aside the abilities of AI programmers for a moment, the key point is that AI programmers can work 24 hours without rest." (End)
