You’ve probably seen that famous illustration titled “What the customer really needed.”
It’s a classic. It humorously captures how a customer’s true needs often get lost in translation as the request passes through layers of sales, project management, and engineering.
It’s not just about system development—it’s something many of us have felt at some point.
That “this isn’t what I meant” feeling? Very relatable.
Lately, with the generative AI boom, I’ve been having a similar feeling.
This post is my way of processing that unease.
The Co-Pilot That Took Over the Cockpit
GitHub Copilot officially launched in June 2022. Just two years ago.
Back then, it felt like an extension of autocomplete. Now? It’s almost spooky how accurately it predicts the code I want to write. Tools like Cursor are also incredibly helpful—they don’t just complete code, they suggest changes in similar places too. It’s magic.
And yet, the name is “Copilot.” As in, not the one in command.
It's a tool meant to assist, with the developer making the final decisions. You’re supposed to evaluate its suggestions, tweak as needed, and make the call.
But as these tools improve, it starts to feel like all I’m doing is pressing Tab and Enter repeatedly.
It’s less coding, more like playing a clicker game. Is this the future of development? (I hope not.)
Then came tools like Devin—an AI coding agent that creates Issues, writes the code, and even opens a PR for you. All that’s left is to review and approve. Even that first review can be done by CodeRabbit or some other AI.
Devin in the pilot seat, CodeRabbit as copilot—and the human dev? Sitting in the back, watching it all play out. The future feels less like flying a plane and more like supervising a simulator.
I Never Wanted to Be the Boss
Looking back, I was actually a pretty decent employee.
I joined a few startups, climbed the ladder, and even became a manager. But as the team grew, I found myself managing people and tasks instead of coding or setting up infrastructure.
And then it stopped being fun. So I quit.
Some of those startups went public, and sure, I could have cashed in had I stayed.
But truthfully, I wouldn’t have lasted those extra years.
I wasn’t built to manage people. I’m a developer. A pilot, not a flight director.
That’s why today’s LLM-powered coding feels off. It feels like handing over the controls.
I use Copilot, Cursor, and tools like Roo. They’re fantastic—I genuinely rely on them.
When I’m offline, like on a plane, I freeze up. Because they can't support me. That’s how hooked I’ve become.
Still… I don’t want to give up the joystick entirely.
Coding Has Changed Before
In the old days, people wrote programs in machine code or assembly (and before that, Tape?).
Then came higher-level languages like BASIC, Fortran, and C.
I bet the old-school assembly folks scoffed at these “toys” at first.
Same thing happened with PHP (“just for the web”) and JavaScript (“not for team development!”).
But those languages lowered the barrier to entry, exploded the number of programmers, and ushered in a new era of programming.
Now, everyone learns to code.
And something similar is happening again—this time with AI coding.
Replit’s CEO famously said “learning to code is becoming pointless.”
Microsoft laid off over 800 software engineers. Salesforce said it won’t hire new engineers in 2025.
It’s not that programmers are obsolete—it’s that software creation is becoming even more accessible, possibly without programming as we know it.
How? Through requirements definition and documentation.
With solid specs, AI can write the code.
Devin does exactly this—file an issue, generate code, submit a PR.
All we need to do is review and approve.
Where have we seen this before?
Oh right, SI (System integration) companies.
Many SI companies don’t have in-house developers.
They handle the specs and docs, then outsource the code.
Whether it’s AI or a subcontractor writing the code—it’s the same setup.
I don’t hate writing documentation. But if that becomes my only job? No thanks.
Writing flight plans while an AI flies the route, and I sit in HQ watching the dashboard?
Is that what engineers are supposed to become?
What I Actually Wanted
So what did I, the developer, really want?
After some thinking, I realized: KITT, from Knight Rider.
KITT is an AI that assists Michael Knight—the real driver.
KITT supports him with information, advice, and warnings.
It respects Michael’s judgment. They’re a team.
KITT doesn’t hijack the wheel.
It helps. Suggests. Sometimes drives, when told.
That’s the kind of coding partner I want.
Less Copilot. More buddy.
The Scary Thing About Capitalism
Let’s say AI and robots do take over our jobs.
Does that mean we’re free to enjoy life?
Historically, Greek citizens had slaves to handle labor, freeing them to pursue politics, philosophy, and the arts.
Slavery was—horrifyingly—an economic foundation in that era.
So if AI and robots are the “slaves” of today, who benefits?
Not us, the engineers.
AI and robots become the slaves of capitalists.
They produce value. Companies reap the profits.
We? We face unemployment and lower wages.
I’m not saying AI is evil. It’s not going away.
It will boost productivity. It will get more people involved in software development.
The real question is:
What will we, as humans, do with the time it frees up?
If everything becomes “that’s AI-able,” we lose value. We lose jobs.
From an engineering perspective, AI coding is just rebuilding existing knowledge in new forms.
Like reinventing the wheel—but smarter.
But creating something new? Inventing entirely new value or technology?
That’s still our job.
(Probably. At least for now.)
Closing Thoughts
Now that I’ve put this into words, I feel lighter.
The unease I had? It’s made sense.
AI evolves fast.
Even the “only humans can do this” work could be automated soon.
Docs? They might not survive another year.
But that’s what makes this era so interesting.
The dot-com bubble in the '90s.
Web 2.0 around 2005.
The smartphone revolution in the 2010s.
And now? Generative AI.
In the middle of these massive shifts, the question is:
What will we create next?
It’s an exciting time to be alive.
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