In retrospect, every technological breakthrough humankind has made came with a promise of profound change. The industrial revolution dawned with the perspective that machines will take over human labour. The internet ushered in the idea that it will erase physical boundaries. Social Media promised that no person would ever be alone again. And now, Artificial Intelligence suggests a future in which people may no longer be needed, or have to work at all.
Underlying every promise has always been fear, of a change powerful enough to reshape the world entirely. The AI era is no different: met either with anxiety or excitement, many from both sides of the argument agree with an outcome – that it will eventually become intelligent and skilled enough to make people redundant. Will it, though?
Every major technological advance has undeniably transformed our world and ourselves. But none fulfilled its most extreme promise – they did, however, gradually dispel the apocalyptic fears that accompanied them.
It’s no coincidence that the greatest fear now lies in the group that created Artificial Intelligence in the first place: programmers. After all, there’s no question about it: AI can code faster and at a greater scale than any human being. But whether it does it better is the answer that counts. And experiments, pilot projects, forums and discussions all lead to the same conclusion: not quite.
Make no mistake, the discussion of programmers slowly becoming obsolete is anything but new – practically every new advancement in automation predicted it. And yet, every time the prediction fell short. Take web development for example: in the 2000s, websites were built from scratch and none could imagine an alternative. Then came no-code and low-code platforms and everything changed – and in the process, not only did coders not become extinct, but their field of expertise, as well as the value they bring – expanded dramatically.
Because coding, 25 years ago and today, is just one part of a broader process. Yes, AI can assist, accelerate or automate segments. But creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving or human collaboration, the element that took our species to impossible heights, is not something that Artificial Intelligence can replace. It simply isn’t designed to. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, AI is about “empowering humans to do more, not less”.
Like every major industrial breakthrough before it, AI expands the range of what is possible. It opens new paths for human skill, new domains of expertise and new ways of working. It is a powerful tool – one that will reshape roles and redefine industries. But here lies its core: it is a tool, not a creator.