I’ve been struggling a little lately with my current choice of profession: software developer/web developer. With the advent of AI and other technologies in our modern world it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a job which is not being encroached upon by technology.
Pizza delivery guys from established pizza places are being out-run by Uber drivers with delivery at a short price on shorter notice. Surfers are creating their own apps to find surf spots using new AI vibe coding software. Photographers are being overshadowed by AI image generation software that is getting very good.
In my own profession as a self-taught software developer I find myself being driven out of a job by AI agents that are very very good at writing high-quality code from end-to-end.
Starting my own Business
I’ve recently started my own business doing web design when a client called me asking me to create a website. Now I’m beginning to wonder if it was a mistake to get into this field, which is heavily influenced by online AI website services which can do a very good job.
There’s certainly a lot of disruption going on in this world caused by software we used to think would be amazing back at the turn of the millennium. Now it just seems to take our jobs.
When my last client called me to seek my services, I actually pointed out these AI-driven options to him, but he simply told me “I guess I’m kind of old-fashioned”. And I believe there are a lot of clients out there who would express this sentiment and would rather work with a real human being when looking to create a new website or other product.
An interesting parallel
Today when I was browsing Youtube, I ran across a video of a Lockheed Constellation VC-121A airliner, the Bataan, that had been owned by Douglas MacArthur during the war and was painstakingly restored to working condition with a fully revamped interior.
The airplane has an odd feature in that it doesn’t use a computer to monitor the state of the engines during flight but is run using fully manual control by an engineer who describes himself as a perpetual “gearhead”. Each part of the engine’s performance is regulated and monitored during flight by this engineer.
The video made me think afterwards, “Wow, what an engineer, to understand each part and idiosyncrasy of those old engines and still do a good job of it”. I think that there is a certain beauty and excellence in simply doing some things yourself rather than letting the computer do it.
This is something I think the older generation gets this better than our young generation of millennials and gen-Zers who seem to simply live naturally in the world of digital computers.
This engineer from the video is to me, not a proof that computers can’t do the job better and might replace him, and do the job better at least in modern aircraft, but is a sign that some things were not meant for the hands of robots. After all, what is the purpose of life, except to serve in a way that your gifts are utilized to serve others in the most helpful way possible?
There is a beauty in the man that can tune an engine to the optimal working power, simply by hand, using intuition, his ears, and long experience to achieve a compelling purpose.
Thesis of Purpose
If we don’t find purpose in our work, then we have failed as a people. I see young people all over not understanding who they are, when serving others in a useful role is the highest aim they can achieve.
How, you may ask, is serving others the highest aim you can achieve? Consider the roles of a Mother and a pizza delivery man in society.
Though these roles may seem humble they achieve a lasting purpose. The Mother or Father raises a child who understands who they are and their place in society. The pizza delivery man offers a valuable service that the Mother can appreciate when she simply doesn’t have time to cook a good dinner for her children. Every part benefits the whole.
Remember, Jesus said that he who would become the greatest must become the servant of all – even as he was.
How this Affects Software Development
How does this apply to software developers? While AI may eclipse the software developers who gave birth to it at some point decades or even centuries into the future, AI wouldn’t have a wink of a chance of existing without them.
What I can say is that software development is a respected profession that will continue long into the future, though it may look different than it used to be.
I know that current software development is leaning heavily on AI tools because it can greatly boost productivity. We may even see AI agents totally replacing human developers, but we have not arrived there yet.
How does this affect me?
What I want to stress is that there is a usefulness to your work that others may appreciate in ways they or you may not realize. So keep learning to create websites, keep cooking those delicious pizzas, keep raising purpose-conscious kids. You may be rewarded in ways you do not realize.
In fact, even if AI completely takes over the software development field in a few decades and no programmers are strictly needed, the very life skills I’m learning by starting a business and providing a highly skilled service will keep me in good stead if all my clients go to AI solutions.
So I don’t view software development as a dead-end path at this point. It is simply a way to serve others and gain valuable life skills that apply to other areas of life you might never think were connected.
And I’m going to keep looking for new ways to use my coding skills. Because life skills like meticulous design and patient effort will always be useful in one way or another.
Timothy Grindall is a technology writer and self-taught computer programmer, photographer, filmmaker, thinker, and writer who wants to see the world change for the better.
Leave a Reply