I don't have decades of experience under my belt, but I feel like the reaction is happening mostly because it is the first time that developers are at the risk of being automated out of work. "Learn a new field" is easy to say when you are not the one that will need to do it. Now a lot of developers are afraid of having to follow the advice that they gave to a lot of workers.

I don't believe that AI will put most of the working force out of jobs. That would be so different from what we had in history that I think the chances are minimal. However, they are not zero, and that is scary as fuck for a lot of people.

This is literally true, we have been automating other people out of their jobs without empathy for ages, so it makes sense at some point the knife would fall on us. Because of low solidarity we have shown with others and even our fellow programmers, I guess we deserve it. My real worry at this point is that the most destructive ones will continue and only the destructive programmers will be safe.