[pydry]

I've yet to hear an argument that argues that software engineers can be replaced by AI that doesnt boil down to slop apologism, inability to detect slop or simple gaslighting.

These are things I've come to expect from bots, clueless journalists, clueless juniors, clueless expert beginners and clueless members of the professional managerial class but almost never from experienced software engineers.

To be fair, seasoned software engineers always seem to get shouted down online by the former group which is louder and more numerous so you could argue that we "lost" the argument.

Meanwhile big tech's vibe coded monstrosities are increasingly exploding all around us in ever more humiliating ways while the humans who had this tech rammed down their throats get thrown under the bus.

This undeserved halo effect over AI is maintained in order to keep the needle from pricking the ginormous stock market bubble that hinges upon the religious belief in the lie AI Will Replace Us All Soon.

[stnikolauswagne]

The argument is "Software Engineer" sounds like "Programmer" to me and "Programming" is just typing lines of code, AI can do all that typing quicker than a human so there we go.

Currently leading an Integration that for the most part needs no new code written and the CEO is breathing down my neck telling me to cut my 4 week estimate down to 1 because "can't i just use AI like the other firms do?".

There's a morbid part of me that wants to give him what he wants and let claude make critical process decisions on internal processes that are very domain specific and have no online documentation, but alas I would rather not have the project go down in flames so I smile and nod.

[DrewADesign]

Doctor sounds like Nurse, which sounds like applying bandages and taking temperatures.

Physicist sounds like Lab Technician, which sounds like managing samples.

Electrical Engineer sounds like Electrician, which sounds like installing a bunch of wire.

Stunt Driver sounds like Uber Driver which sounds like pushing pedals and turning a wheel.

It’s fun to pretend the world is much simpler than it is.

[stnikolauswagne]

Much less emasculating than accepting that all that weird tech mumbo jumbo that those overpaid senior engineers babble about actually has a deeper meaning and is not just there to artificially slow down the all important company growth!

[DrewADesign]

Listen: nobody goes to college, gets a 4 year stem degree, and builds a career up just to not be able to slow company growth.

[gspr]

> I've yet to hear an argument that argues that software engineers can be replaced by AI that doesnt boil down to slop apologism, inability to detect slop or simple gaslighting.

That, or extreme extrapolation from events that form a vanishingly tiny part of the job of a software engineer. "Last week my AI solved this amazing software problem that I had struggled with" very quickly becomes "the AI is better at software than I am". Any pushback suggesting that the fact that something (or someone) did one tiny part of your job better than you one time does not mean you should be replaced, is quickly met with "yeah, but that's today, imagine how amazing the models will be in n years".

You can't win a debate with this much moving of goalposts.