The beginning of programming as we'll know it?
by zdw on 4/2/2026, 12:39:26 AM
https://bitsplitting.org/2026/04/01/the-beginning-of-programming-as-well-know-it/
Comments
by: an0malous
> If you interpret these examples to mean that any person can write down any list of requirements along with any user interface specs, and the AI will consistently produce a satisfactory product, then I’d agree programmers are toast.<p>I think the road to this is pretty clear now. It’s all about building the harness now such that the AI can write something and get feedback from type checks, automated tests, runtime errors, logs, and other observability tools. The majority of software is fairly standardized UI forms running CRUD operations against some backend or data store and interacting with APIs.
4/3/2026, 3:14:14 AM
by: phyzix5761
> any person can write down any list of requirements along with any user interface specs<p>Isn't this just a new programming language? A higher level language which will require new experts to know how to get the best results out of it? I've seen non-technical people struggle with AI generated code because they don't understand all the little nuances that go into building a simple web app.
4/3/2026, 3:26:32 AM
by: hyperhello
My feeling is that AI is not real coding; it is <i>coding-adjacent</i>. Project Management, Sales, Marketing, Writing Books About KanBan, AI Programming, User Interface Design, Installing Routers are coding-adjacent. AI is not real coding any more than The Sims is homemaking. You can use AI and hang with the tech guys and get your check but you are going to be treading water and trying to be liked personally to stay where you are. No question it's a job, but no, it's not coding.
4/3/2026, 1:12:40 AM
by: ma2kx
In chess, engines have long been stronger than humans, but for a long time a (super) grandmaster with an engine was still better than an engine alone.
4/3/2026, 1:37:32 AM
by: satisfice
‘There is a confirmation bias at work here: every developer who has experienced such a remarkable outcome is delighted to share it. It helps to contribute to a mass (human) hallucination that computers really are capable of anything, and really are taking over the world.”<p>This is survivorship bias, a form of sample bias.<p>Confirmation bias is a form of motivated reasoning where you search for evidence that confirms your existing beliefs.
4/3/2026, 1:42:15 AM
by: fraywing
I'm observing that there is some kind of status quo bias nearly uniformly being surfaced by the programming community right now.<p>I myself have feelings like this, as a software engineer by trade.<p>"We will forever be useful!" As a sounding cry against radical transformation. I hope that's the case, but some of these pieces just seem like copium.
4/3/2026, 1:50:12 AM
by: julianlam
> Just a few years ago, AI essentially could not program at all. In the future, a given AI instance may “program better” than any single human in history. But for now, real programmers will always win.<p>For how long? Do I get to feel smug about this for 10 days, 10 weeks, or 10 years? That radically changes the planned trajectory of my life.
4/3/2026, 1:24:23 AM
by: chiengineer2
[flagged]
4/2/2026, 1:17:49 AM