I'm coming at this from a different angle because I work in networking. Automation is a really hot topic. Previously a lot of device config changes were performed manually on the CLI, now networks are increasingly being managed & configured in software or cloud-based platforms. Now it isn't the device CLI that engineers need to know, it is how to interacted with an API, and networkers do not know that. Coding and JSON, these things are not in their skill set.
What does that mean for programmers? Actually, more opportunity. Networking jobs are being posted for people with coding skills, not networking knowledge, and that's just in my industry.
In broader terms, automation is technological progress, taking manual tasks and building machines or code to run them instead. It is happening all around us, it is societal change. Think about when you visit a store now and you use the self-checkout. Twenty years ago, I had to type in the price of an item and do stock checks. Now you are doing all of that yourself when you use one of those machines, and where are all the people working the checkout points? They aren't needed. Lots of low to medium skilled jobs are or will be affected in this way.
That doesn't necessarily mean mass unemployment, just different opportunities, but this will be harder on some.
The key is to keep moving and keep learning, if you can. Programmers have an advantage here, many others in society either do not know this, or they lack the opportunity to learn, facing constraints because of socio-economic pressures. It is not so easy for the single mother that's just lost her part-time job at the supermarket to "learn to code". It is on us to ensure that everyone benefits from the developments of AI and automation, not just the privileged few.
I'm coming at this from a different angle because I work in networking. Automation is a really hot topic. Previously a lot of device config changes were performed manually on the CLI, now networks are increasingly being managed & configured in software or cloud-based platforms. Now it isn't the device CLI that engineers need to know, it is how to interacted with an API, and networkers do not know that. Coding and JSON, these things are not in their skill set.
What does that mean for programmers? Actually, more opportunity. Networking jobs are being posted for people with coding skills, not networking knowledge, and that's just in my industry.
In broader terms, automation is technological progress, taking manual tasks and building machines or code to run them instead. It is happening all around us, it is societal change. Think about when you visit a store now and you use the self-checkout. Twenty years ago, I had to type in the price of an item and do stock checks. Now you are doing all of that yourself when you use one of those machines, and where are all the people working the checkout points? They aren't needed. Lots of low to medium skilled jobs are or will be affected in this way.
That doesn't necessarily mean mass unemployment, just different opportunities, but this will be harder on some.
The key is to keep moving and keep learning, if you can. Programmers have an advantage here, many others in society either do not know this, or they lack the opportunity to learn, facing constraints because of socio-economic pressures. It is not so easy for the single mother that's just lost her part-time job at the supermarket to "learn to code". It is on us to ensure that everyone benefits from the developments of AI and automation, not just the privileged few.
Yes exactly. Learning is the key.