Lately, many software engineers have been concerned about the future with the emergence of new technologies like LLMs. We are both afraid and excited about what lies ahead. I, too, share these feelings, and in this regard, I would like to share my prediction for the future. I was heavily inspired by Dr Matt Welsh's talk at Harvard University, which I recommend watching (link at the end of the article).
Now, let's delve into the heart of the matter: Will AI render our roles obsolete?
In my opinion, not entirely, but it will definitely transform our ways of working. To explore this further, Let's imagine together what the IT Team of the USS Enterprise starship would look like and what their primary function would be.
Engine Room
Starships are just sitting ducks without the hard work of their engineering team. People like Scotty will always be needed to keep the lights up and
the engine going.
So, DevOps teams are here to stay! It doesn't matter where exactly. On-prem, on the cloud? Infrastructure will always need caring, upgrading, and securing. The growing trend of multi-cloud operations and the even higher focus on sustainability in IT will ensure that the DevOps field will thrive.
Bridge
We can argue about who the most essential crew member on the starship is. But very likely, without commanders, no vessel would have made it far in the vast unexplored space. Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock's role is essential to the success and survival of the entire crew. They face life-and-death situations and are required to make split-second decisions.
Translating this to IT terms, this is a new and emerging area and will be the most significant change compared to how we do IT now. We can call them" end users" who are not necessarily technical yet significantly capable of determining the entire project course. Think of them as a mixture of Business Analysts, Designers, and Architects. They will interface with various technologies. Their most important skills will be translating and modelling business needs, prompt engineering, and system-level thinking.
The Computer
This is a little sci-fi in our day and age. The Computer is always used as an interface where the command team gives specific instructions and gets certain inputs. There is little to explain here. LLMs and Machine Learning will be capable of creating on-the-fly "programs" we won't be able to comprehend. And we don't necessarily need to. We can already see the effectiveness of these systems, and I firmly believe that their capabilities will eventually replace conventional software and, unfortunately, most of the traditional software engineers.
Science lab
But! We won't be relying solely on computers! We will need people like Uhura to monitor the system's inputs and outputs. Look for anomalies, distress signals or hidden enemy ships in the cosmos!
Again, to translate this into simple terms, this will also be another new emerging field that is much more technical than the previously mentioned. It will be a sort of code analyst position where we try to evaluate how well or not the AI system works, how the on-the-fly generated programs are performing, whether the data is intact, etc.
I assume this role will need the most hands-on programming experience and a deep understanding of machine learning principles.
Redshirts
There are many hidden threats in the universe! These brave individuals are the first to venture into dangerous territories to protect the entire crew through their jobs.
Security will continue to be a critical aspect for IT teams in the future. In addition to the existing penetration testing methodologies, there will be a new addition to ensure that AI and machine learning models are secured. For example, they can't be misled with techniques like prompt hijacking. The Security teams might also be responsible for enforcing and controlling AI ethics. Yet their primary function will be constantly looking for vulnerabilities in traditional and AI-infused systems.
Sickbay
Let's credit the brave doctors caring for the entire crew. Whether it's a mysterious illness, alien parasites, or just a regular phaser wound, the sickbay and Dr. McCoy are always there to help!
This might not be straightforward, but we must remember that the future IT Team will have human components. We will see the emergence of new functions, such as AI ethics, which try to control how and when AI decision-making can and can't override human ones. And balance the AI-human roles in the entire system, ensuring we stay in control of our fictional starship, not otherwise.
Closing thoughts
Take all this with a grain of salt. No one can predict the future. And the entire world cannot be changed overnight. I'd like to know what you think. How would you imagine the future IT teams and their roles? Is it a grim future or something new or exciting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source:
Large Language Models and The End of Programming - CS50 Tech Talk with Dr. Matt Welsh
Top comments (3)
Star Trek tried to maintain a long term sense of continuity despite the original iterations coming out in the 1960s and 1980s. Realistically, the ship's AI should be responding accurately in microseconds to most critical situations instead of the captain waiting for a dramatic amount of time to issue an order. Of course that should free up the crew to focus on higher level problems like time travel ethics.
Thanks Jason for the comment. I appreciate your opinion obviously Star Trek has a lot of exaggerations. For me personally this arrangement - when I try to translate it to modern IT - would mean we completely let go of all control at least over the IT pipeline. Maybe it is just me but I feel very conflicted about it. I'd like to believe there is still room for the human element in the future's IT teams.
I liked the starship crew metaphor for imagining how AI might shape the future of IT roles.🦄🌌💫