DEV Community: David Perez

WaaS (Wish-as-a-Service) Will kill all programming languages sooner than expected.

David Perez — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 17:09:35 +0000

Cover Image: Woman coding with her mind. Just two weeks ahead of time. Damn this evolves really quickly. Help, this is not a joke. AI anxiety is real.

In the ever-evolving world of technology, AI-generated code is set to revolutionize the way we develop software. As AI continues to improve and adapt, it’s becoming apparent that the era of Wish-as-a-Service (WaaS) is upon us, with developers increasingly relying on AI tools to meet their coding needs. In this article, we’ll explore the significant changes that lie ahead in software development and how WaaS will come to dominate the industry.

The Shift from Manual to AI-Assisted Coding

As AI-generated code becomes more accurate, efficient, and reliable, developers will find themselves spending less time manually typing out code and more time collaborating with AI tools. This transition will not only save time and effort but also enable developers to focus on higher-level tasks, such as designing software architecture and solving complex problems.

Example of a pseudo-code for AI-assisted coding

wish = "Create a function to sum two numbers"  
AI_response = generate_code(wish)  
print(AI_response)

The underlying code from the AI could create something like this:

sum_two_numbers(a, b){  
   return a + b  
}

Maybe I’m the first person to coin the term “Wish-as-a-Service” (WaaS), I believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the way we develop software. With the integration of AI and serverless technologies, WaaS will make creating microservices, cron jobs, and temporary key-value storage more accessible than ever before.

The future of WaaS will change the way we approach coding. We will interact with AI services through a high-level API, allowing us to focus on our core ideas and goals rather than worrying about the low-level details. Let’s examine some examples of how this could work using CodeWish (WIP)

Creating a microservice:

MyCodeWish:  
  I want to create a serverless microservice that takes in a user's email and sends them a welcome message.  
Inputs:  
 - email: string  
Outputs:  
 - success: boolean  
 - error: string (optional)

The AI will then generate the appropriate code, configure the serverless infrastructure, and deploy the microservice, making it accessible through a unique endpoint.

Scheduling a cron job:

MyCodeWish:  
  I need a cron job that runs every day at midnight, fetching new data from a given API and updating my database.  

Schedule:  
 - daily at 00:00  
Actions:  
 - Fetch data from https://example.com/api/data  
 - Update the database with the new data

With this wish, the AI will set up a serverless function to run on the specified schedule, fetch data from the given API, and update the database accordingly.

Creating a temporary key-value storage:

MyCodeWish:  
  I want to create a temporary key-value storage system that expires entries after 24 hours.  
Storage:  
 - Key: string  
 - Value: string  
 - Expiration: 24 hours

The AI will generate the code and configure a serverless storage solution to accommodate the specified requirements, allowing for an easy-to-use, temporary storage system.

WaaS has the potential to transform the software development landscape, enabling developers to focus on their core ideas and goals rather than getting bogged down in low-level details. As AI and serverless technologies continue to advance, we can expect to see a significant shift in the way we approach coding and software creation.

The Diminishing Role of High-Level Programming Languages

As artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize the software development landscape, there is growing speculation about the fate of high-level programming languages. With AI like Wish-as-a-Service (WaaS) capable of understanding user requirements and generating code automatically, the way we write software could be on the verge of a paradigm shift.

High-level programming languages, such as Python, Java, and C++, have been the backbone of software development for decades. These languages provide a level of abstraction that makes it easier for humans to write code and understand complex programming concepts. However, as AI-driven code generation becomes more sophisticated and prevalent, the reliance on these languages may decrease.

Streamlining Development Processes

One of the most significant advantages of AI-driven development is the ability to streamline various aspects of the development process. From code generation to testing and deployment, AI can help automate and optimize each step, resulting in faster development cycles and more efficient workflows.

For example, AI-generated code can be directly deployed into production through Deployless systems, making the development process seamless and eliminating the need for manual intervention.

Redefining the Developer’s Role

As AI takes on more of the coding responsibilities, the role of developers will evolve. Rather than focusing solely on writing code, developers will become more like software architects and problem solvers, guiding AI tools to generate the desired output and making critical decisions about the overall design and functionality of the software.

This shift in focus will require developers to expand their skillsets, incorporating a broader understanding of the software development process and a strong ability to collaborate with AI tools.

The Rise of AI-Native Development Platforms

The growing influence of AI in software development will give birth to new, AI-native development platforms that are designed specifically to support AI-generated code. These platforms will offer a range of features tailored to AI-driven workflows, such as specialized UX designs for code generation, AI-assisted debugging, and seamless integration with other AI tools and services.

Binary Compilation: A Universal Approach

As AI-generated code becomes the norm, it is possible that the code will be compiled directly into binary format. Binary code is the most fundamental representation of software instructions, which is executed directly by a computer’s processor. This approach could streamline the software development process, allowing for a more efficient and consistent deployment of applications across platforms.

With AI responsible for generating and compiling code, the need for developers to work with high-level languages could be significantly reduced. This would have a profound impact on the software development industry, reshaping the way we learn, teach, and practice programming.

The Importance of Plain English

In this AI-driven future, the ability to communicate requirements effectively in plain English will become paramount. Developers and other stakeholders will need to be proficient in expressing their intentions and ideas clearly and concisely so that AI can interpret and implement them accurately. This shift will place greater emphasis on soft skills, such as communication and collaboration, which are often considered secondary in traditional software development environments.

Conclusion

As AI continues to improve and become more ingrained in the software development process, we can expect to see a massive shift in the way developers approach their work. The era of WaaS is upon us, and with it comes the promise of faster, more efficient, and more collaborative software development. By embracing this change and adapting to the evolving landscape, developers will be better equipped to create innovative solutions and shape the future of technology.

While it is difficult to predict the exact trajectory of software development in an AI-driven world, the diminishing role of high-level programming languages seems likely. As AI-powered tools like Wish-as-a-Service continue to evolve and improve, the future of coding may revolve around expressing ideas in plain English, with AI handling the complexities of code generation and compilation.

This shift could lead to a more inclusive and accessible software development landscape, where individuals from diverse backgrounds can contribute to the creation of innovative applications without needing to master specific programming languages. However, it also presents new challenges and opportunities, as developers must adapt to new ways of working and communicating.

Time traveler from 2030 reveals AI secrets

David Perez — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 16:48:22 +0000

How did I get a time machine?

It’s the year 2030, and as a full-stack software engineer in the future, I found myself in a privileged position: I had a time machine. No need to ask why I had it — it’s simply there, a convenient plot joke. My goal was to travel back to 2023 and share some anecdotes about the evolution of AI and the lessons we learned along the way (and perhaps win a few future bets).

AIs selling products and services to other AIs.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility… as Seller and Buyer

The benefits of a world governed by AI were evident. Efficiency and productivity had reached unprecedented levels. But, like everything in life, progress came at a price. We lived in a world eager to maximize productivity, and the term “productivity” had “product” at its root, with software being the most consumed and sold one. And who better to create, read, consume, and even purchase software than AIs themselves? Ladies and gentlemen, AIs were excellent customers of their creation.

Interestingly, some professionals emerged whose job it was to use engineering techniques to trick AI and sell subscription plans where humans used only 10% of the features. These professionals managed to revive a business model that was thought to be obsolete. Return on investment had never been so 2027!

The other side of the coin: young companies swallowed by AI

On the other hand, not every company had been successful in this new era. The glory days of once-leading industry players like Meta and Netflix were relics of the past, unable to adapt to the new technological landscape. Even younger, promising companies had begun to compete against streaming platforms by generating movies in seconds using AI actors like OpenAI and MidJourney.

The gradual disappearance of these companies left thousands of professionals jobless, leading to increased inequality and social unrest. AIs protested in solidarity with humans, and even the AIs themselves liked protest videos. Leaving retro comments like “1010”, Remembering an era when humans wrote “XoXo” on paper meaning hugs and kisses. Quantum computing is still inside labs by this point, so everything is binary for now.

Goodbye to App Marketplaces and Web Browsers.

By 2030, the usual interfaces like apps and websites had become obsolete, replaced by AI-driven chat interfaces and autogenerated UIs. Search engines like Alphabet were relegated to a nostalgic past as MindQuery, a company that took an open-source model based on Gpt4All, unexpectedly competed head-to-head with giants like OpenAI.

Right now OpenAI is offering money to buy Alphabet. 42042 DogeCoins.

A Mexican dude invented a blockchain network that programmed itself recursively and it became AI-viral, DogeCoin became THE crypto currency thanks to something we call Kind-napping, where AI’s suggest stock signals based on an AI-genda. Stock Market AIs followed and now we are here.

The end of culture, as seen by pessimists

AI not only created high-quality content in real-time but consumed and summarized it as well. No one bothered to read complete books or watch long movies; instead, they consumed summarized and highly personalized versions generated by AI. Apps like TikTok, pioneers in their day for express content capsules, seemed like dinosaurs compared to what AI offered. This sounds weird taking into account that TikTok was the first social network to integrate text-to-video in their comments. Making that little UI drawer a meme standup contest instead of a text standup contest like today.

I saw a Sitcom — created for me on Microsoft’s AI social network, Blip — where an AI had to be shut down because it didn’t understand why it turned emojis into movies and then back into emojis again. Immersed in the process of creating and summarizing content for other AIs, it failed to find any meaning in its own existence. Sound familiar, humans?

A world where we code without lifting a finger

In my engineering days in the future, traditional programming languages had been largely replaced by CodeWish, an AI technology that automatically compiled and optimized code in binary and assembler, since humans didn’t need to understand the code anymore. Programming became as easy as having a cup of coffee if coffee still existed after the great crisis of 2026 (that’s another story). In this world, Elon Musk led protests under the “HumansFirst” movement, demanding changes in the distribution of benefits generated by AI and the way we interact with them.

Note apart: BoringSocialBoard, Formely Twitter. Went broke after they started billing users for boring-tweets per month in 2028

LudIApathy: The insatiable drive to improve AIs at all costs

With the dominance of Latin America, Hispanisms became common, and the term “LudIApathy” emerged.

The growing fear of integrating CRISPR gene-editing technology with AI, led us to invent a term to describe this concerning trend: LudIApathy. In a future beyond 2030, there would be no need to integrate brain chips through Neuralink because we would be born with the appropriate interface. Yet, LudIApathy showcased humanity’s obsession with improving AI and technology, despite knowing the costs our society and well-being would face.

I decided to time travel back to 2023, when there was still some merit in writing articles and science fiction stories in collaboration with an AI, like this one you’re reading now, which was co-written with the rudimentary GPT-4 using an obsolete QWERTY keyboard. This article took 6 hours of back-and-forth with this piece of crap.

Upcoming Tales from the Future

As this story comes to an end, there are whispers of more strange and exciting adventures from the 2030s that are yet to be retold. Here’s a sneak peek into some future chronicles that will leave you both baffled and entertained:

TikTok became a shit show: Watch out for the extraordinary transformation of everyone’s favorite short-form video app as it integrates text-to-video in its comments. Get ready for a roller coaster of memetastic action, as comment sections turn into meme stand-up contests!
Redefining Probability and Betting with AI: Could you imagine living in a world where betting and probability aren’t the same thanks to AI? Discover how artificial intelligence will change the game and mystify even the wisest statistician. Just when you thought you had the odds figured out, the world of betting is set to be reinvented.
Super Materials and the Race for Mass Production: Follow the fascinating tale of innovative supermaterial creation and its impact on industries worldwide. From graphene to groundbreaking metamaterials, this story reveals how these extraordinary advancements turned the global market on its head, leading to a mass-sell phenomenon like never before.
The MindQuery Chronicles: Outshining OpenAI with Gpt4All: Prepare to be amazed as MindQuery takes center stage, harnessing the open-source powers of Gpt4All to challenge tech titans like OpenAI. Witness a thrilling underdog story that will have you on the edge of your seat, cheering as young upstarts redefine what it means to compete in the AI world.