Since robotics and artificial intelligence have experienced technological advancements, a terrifying question has been looming in our minds: Will machines ever replace us? Countless films, series, books, etc., have been written about AI and the inevitable replacement of human labor by robots. The latest concern is that ChatGPTs will replace programmers. But should we really worry?
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The world of artificial intelligence grew exponentially overnight. Every day we see more art generated by artificial intelligence art synthesis, and we even saw the first-ever short film entirely written and directed by an AI. The same AI can program simple lines of code, which begs the question: will ChatGPTs ever replace programmers?
Worries
Mike Abel addressed this interesting topic in a Facebook post, highlighting the explosion in popularity of ChatGPT in the last few months alone. According to some reports, large technology companies have laid off large parts of their employees and invested a lot of money in the creation and development of artificial intelligence programs. Currently, Microsoft has introduced an aspect of AI into a few of its programs. For example, she is working on a program that can synthesize anyone's voice with just a few seconds of audio reference.
What happens when a workforce is replaced by robotics or AI? It’s a smart choice for businesses. A computer does not need to sleep or eat, it does not exhaust itself creatively (only mechanically), it has no family to support, it does not get sick and doesn't need days off. A computer is a perfect worker, the perfect employee. But what happens to the people?
Abel mentions that while it may make sense for a company to move toward an option that would be cheaper in the long run (they don't have to worry about paying a salary with a computer), the company cannot just think about the benefit she gets from it. For example, suppose an entire sector of the job market is taken over by machines. In this case, the entire workforce finds itself unemployed in a field in which it was specialized. This means that an entire group of working-class citizens are left without a way to support their families.
While technology is undoubtedly the way forward in the future, Abel reminds us that even employers are human and need to think about the humanitarian aspect of replacing their workforce with machines. Furthermore, technology is advancing at a rate far faster than creating new jobs for those who risk losing them in this inevitable significant shift toward AI and machines.
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Reassurances
Although the shift toward technology seems inevitable, many robotics, artificial intelligence, and programming experts believe that as ChatGPT currently stands, there is no way it will completely replace programmers, writers, and artists . Ultimately, AI is not perfect and is a tool to use to create, not to replace. Austin Nguyen, a software developer working on his own bot, took part in the discussion, telling readers why ChatGPT is unlikely to replace programmers.
Over the past few months, ChatGPT has emerged as a powerful, multi-purpose tool capable of generating code when given a few prompts. First, of course, you need to know a little about what you're doing to provide the robot with the appropriate prompts, but there's another problem. The generated code only sometimes works correctly. When it works, it is usually a simple code template that may serve a particular function, but accomplishes little.
Another important aspect of programming is that programmers must be able to analyze problems posed by code and find solutions that require logic and creativity. A machine can operate through pure reason, but it has no originality or critical thinking, especially not on a human level. According to Mr. Nguyen, a programmer can therefore find a solution that is both elegant and very efficient, making it more valuable than an AI.
Nguyen also mentioned that programmers don't just produce code. They also fix bugs, constantly improve their existing code for new versions, and work with an entire development team to do this. ChatGPT is a great tool that can make programmers' work a little easier, using them for mundane and trivial tasks, allowing them to focus on the creative side, which “requires human intelligence.”
Another user on Quora agrees with Nguyen, saying that ChatGPT is a great tool that can be used for code generation and natural language processing, but that it is not sophisticated enough to replace the role of ‘a human programmer. “Programming is a creative process that requires human insight and intuition,” something a machine cannot fully replicate.
Additionally, another explained in more detail. Users and businesses are unlikely to be happy with “short command line programs written to do a tiny fraction of what they actually need,” which is the current limitation of the code written by ChatGPT. Most of the time, the generated code needs to be completed, does not work, and does not accomplish what users need it to do. There is always an element of a human programmer who has to go into the code to fix it, find and deal with bugs, and beautify simply written code.
ChatGPT is more likely to remain a neat tool that helps programmers rather than something that can replace them. This simply means that programmers won't have to type as much because they can get the simple code patterns they need with short prompts. In this user's opinion, the likelihood of losing a programming position to someone who is simply better at their job and working for less money is higher than losing it to a machine .
For example, the user pointed out that the many easy-to-use web development tools, like Wix and WordPress, make web development tasks much easier for ordinary people, but that they have not yet replaced web developers. There will always be a need for a person behind the machine, dealing with prompts, fixing bugs in the code of the AI itself, what it produces, etc. As things currently stand, there is no reason to fear that machines will replace people, at least for the next few years.
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