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| ▲ | voidspark 4 days ago | parent [-] | | If AGI takes my job as a software developer, my career is finished. I don't know what else to do. Companies won't give a shit about "artisanal" code. | | |
| ▲ | Juliate 4 days ago | parent | next [-] | | You don't need "companies". You need enough customers to buy/support your work so that you get a living out of it. Being a software developer is a _facet_ of your work. You (unconsciously perhaps) do many other things around/with it that the most efficient AI today cannot do alone. And AGI is still far on the horizon, if not a mirage. | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 4 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Hey we're talking about a future scenario where AGI actually exists and is vastly better at software development than any human, and can do it much cheaper than current developer salaries. We're talking about science fiction which may become true much sooner than most people expect. I would be competing with cheap AGI services so it makes no difference whether I am a freelancer or not. > Being a software developer is a _facet_ of your work. You (unconsciously perhaps) do many other things around/with it The non-development parts of my job are not interesting at all. If that's gone then my career is finished. I'm done. | | |
| ▲ | chii 4 days ago | parent | next [-] | | > scenario where AGI actually exists and is vastly better at software development than any human then humans deservedly should no longer be doing software development, and those who were doing it would necessarily be the economic sacrifices. This has happened to many industries before, and shall continue to happen to others. I don't think there's any necessity to stop it - just ease the transition via taxpayer funded schemes. However, none of this stops anyone from persuing an artisanal craft - because otherwise, they would be persuing it for economic reasons rather than artistic reasons. | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 4 days ago | parent [-] | | > then humans deservedly should no longer be doing software development Then you could argue that humans won't "deserve" to exist when aliens show up with superior military technology. This isn't a matter of technology becoming obsolete. It's a matter of human beings becoming obsolete. | | |
| ▲ | Juliate 4 days ago | parent [-] | | No need to call to aliens for that, this happened within human history several times... towards other humans, and towards other species (which some were considered as pest, until it was discovered they were crucial to the ecosystem balance). That's definitely where the danger of some AI builders is, one more example of how technology _is political_ and the reason it's not so surprising some tech leaders are totally aligned with Trump/Project 2025 (if not funding it). (all while there is a _real_, _documented_, _non fictional_, _short term_ ubiquitous threat that is global climate change) |
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| ▲ | SirMaster 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | You sound really jaded and close minded to me in your posts. If AI replaces software development, the only reason you are "done" is because you are jaded and close minded and seemingly unwilling to adapt to the world and life. | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | You are totally misunderstanding the point.
I am talking about the hypothetical AGI/ASI scenario where ALL jobs are replaced by machines. Not just software development. The economic value of human labour drops to zero. This is not just about me and my own little career. It would impact everyone. This is a serious topic that is being discussed and debated at a high level. It is an existential threat to human society. It could be catastrophically disruptive. No one knows how it would play out. There could be severe economic inequality and stratification of society unlike anything we have seen in the past. | | |
| ▲ | SirMaster 3 days ago | parent [-] | | IMO there's no point in average people worrying about something like that. That's like worrying about the Yellowstone supervolcano erupting. No matter how much you worry and prepare, it's all over, so why worry or prepare? IMO it's like a doomsday prepper. Sure you may live a little longer in your bunker, but who even wants to live like that for very long? | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 3 days ago | parent [-] | | I am actually not worried about my situation. ASI is unlikely to arrive that soon. HN is a place for nerds to discuss technology and its future impact. Nothing has more disruptive potential than AI. "Governments worldwide (e.g., US AI Executive Order, UK AI Safety Summit, EU AI Act), international organizations (UN), leading AI researchers (including pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio who have voiced strong concerns), major tech companies, and dedicated research institutes (like the Future of Life Institute, Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk) are actively discussing, researching, and debating the implications and safety of advanced AI." "If ASI concentrates wealth and power in the hands of those who own or control it, while simultaneously rendering most human labor economically valueless, the resulting inequality could dwarf historical examples based on land, capital, or industrial technology ownership. It raises fundamental questions about resource distribution and societal structure in a post-labor world." |
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| ▲ | balfirevic 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > What if you WANT to have a career or a job which is now done exclusively by AGI? > If AGI takes my job as a software developer, my career is finished. I don't know what else to do. Do you want to have a software developer career for the sake of having a software developer career (because you enjoy it), or are you worried about your livelihood? | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 4 days ago | parent [-] | | It's what I've always been interested in doing, and it's how I make a living. I don't want free money just handed out like UBI. That would be depressing. I also don't want retirement. Many people don't want to be forced into early retirement. |
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| ▲ | SirMaster 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Use your imagination a little... There are endless things you can do. I don't understand this mindset. Especially if you are intelligent enough to be a competent software developer, you have the capacity to do a LOT or at least in my experience you probably do. | | |
| ▲ | voidspark 3 days ago | parent [-] | | I am using my imagination. I am talking about a future scenario where the value of human labour drops to zero. ASI. Artificial Super Intelligence. All jobs replaced by machines. Many people derive a sense of purpose from their hard work, skill mastery, and its contribution to society. |
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| It depends; if you do that job or career for fun, then keep doing it!
If you do that job because you like contributing to society and not because you like the job itself, then find another way to contribute to society. Even in a scenario where all jobs are taken by AGI (a utopia if we can get rid of capitalism and wealth, but a dystopia if the billionaire class is the only one that benefits), you could do something as profound as raising children, or something as social as organizing music and art festivals. |
