And the sad part is that it could be such a cool technology it had come about in an earlier time, before consumers and labor lost all their power. It's the combination of the era and the technology that's going to be bad for people more so than just the technology.
It would be cool technology today if we lived in a system that prioritized human dignity and general welfare over the desire of a handful of people getting obscenely wealthy.
I appreciate reading this sentiment and reminds me of "drum machines have no soul."
A common response is usually something like "now I get to focus on the actual engineering process rather than the code" but IMO it's sort of missing the bigger picture and is almost a coping mechanism. People should use whatever tools they want to be productive but enjoyment/happiness should not be thrown out.
People forget that enjoyment/happiness is a nice bonus to have in a job if you're lucky, but it isn't at all necessary. You're hired to create value for your employer, whether you enjoy it or not, and you're free to take it or leave.
Now programmers get to be like 99% of people and just work for the paycheck.
We don't live under serfdom or slavery, we live under capitalism. Under capitalism, in the world in which most people live, paychecks are necessary because the labor class has to pay rent on their survival, but only so long as humans are necessary to create value. No part of that requires the humans to enjoy what they're doing any more than draft animals are required to enjoy plowing or pulling loads.
I can't speak for anyone else, but in my workplace this is being said by people who have never cared about the engineering process before. It's pure cope
I find building more enjoyable than engineering, personally. Engineering is the boring necessary stuff that needs to be done, building is the fun reward for doing a good job engineering.