Post #1773157

2026-04-29 10:55 UTC

With LLM platform subsidies ending and the reality of adoption over time becoming clear, I really hope we can get to the point where we figure out the actual subset of software engineering tasks this stuff can usefully automate.. The window for employers pretending it replaces developers is closing imo, it was always a smokescreen but it's going to become an existential business threat to all but the biggest, and even then..

Replies (7)

@sue@glasgow.social 2026-04-29 10:56

I suspect they believed so profoundly in its capacity to replace people they thought that would be case closed before the pricing rug pull had to happen. They were incorrect!

Open ##1799067
@DamonHD@mastodon.social 2026-04-29 11:19

@sue Maybe an interesting point is the boundary between "assist" and "automate" with such tools?

Open ##1799073
@androcat@toot.cat 2026-04-29 11:31

@sue I am not convinced it has any real applications. It can serve as a quick search, but results still have to be vetted manually, and it's not even a one-stop search, because it will have false negatives that can only be found with other search methods. So it will make some small percentage of tasks some small percentage faster. At best.

Open ##1799074
@paco@infosec.exchange 2026-04-29 12:10

@sue I think you’re right. My prediction has been that when the bubble bursts, some company that is so big we didn’t think they could possibly fail, will in fact fail. I don’t mean one of the AI companies. I mean something like oracle, ibm, adobe, etc. Some company that we don’t realise is so perilously out over their skis that when AI prices jump, they’ll be wiped out: Unable to deliver their core business, hire to replace lost talent, nor pay the AI bills any longer. I’m not guessing which one. I’m not that smart. But I think there’s gonna be a Lehman Brothers of the AI bubble, and then all hell breaks loose.

Open ##1799075
@Traumkaempfer@sueden.social 2026-04-29 13:45

@sue Every single manager (over all levels) who fired someone hoping they could be replaced by „AI“ should be fired, too.

Open ##1799088
@budududuroiu@hachyderm.io 2026-04-29 13:53

@sue why automate? If you can use this to create massive unemployment within SWE and drive the cost of SWE down it's a win for businesses, and will be pursued despite subsidies ending.

Open ##1799089
@Epic_Null@infosec.exchange 2026-04-29 17:56

@sue Ironically, I think it's the smaller companies that have the best chance. Larger companies have a lot of institutional knowledge and complexity that a new developer cannot rush into understanding. A small company though could be rebuilt by a skilled developer slapping things together in a "Make it work first, make it nice later" strategy.

Open ##1799090