The New Renaissance Newsletter
Volume 22, Issue 11
As the Bots Get Smarter, YOU Get More Human
I had an eye-opening A.I. convo with longtime New Renaissance member Chris Downey that we’re gonna kick off this issue with…
Chris: I've seen in your newsletters how you mention that AI is commoditizing software coding, and that's totally spot on. It's mind-blowing, and hardly any software developers even realize this. Some are aware, but like most people, they tend to overlook things until it's almost too late. It's a massive game-changer.
There are days when I can literally accomplish eight hours of work in just 30 to 60 minutes. It's unbelievable, especially the way AI can write code. Some software developers may dismiss this idea, thinking AI can't write good code, but they might not fully grasp how AI has been trained.
AI has been trained on open source code. It has ingested virtually every open source project out there, and trust me, there's a ton of them. But here's the kicker: the most successful open source projects operate as meritocracies. They're often led by brilliant developers who think big and wield enormous influence. For instance, take Ruby on Rails, released in 2005. Its creator is, in my opinion, one of the greatest programmers ever. He based it on a classic software work that most developers have never even heard of.
There's a lack of historical awareness in the software world that connects all the dots.
So when AI is trained on software produced by these meritocracies, you can be sure that the code it generates is pretty amazing. The productivity boost was simply a matter of giving some specs to ChatGPT and copy-pasting the code. It's a somewhat primitive method, but now Microsoft, OpenAI, and GitHub have launched GitHub Copilot. It seamlessly integrates into your integrated development environment (IDE) while you code.
It watches your coding process and anticipates what you need. It's almost eerie. I start typing something, and it cleverly suggests how to complete the code line. I'm like, "Whoa, this is too good!" Press tab, there it is; hit enter, there's another one. If I add a comment like "This function calculates the difference between two dates," boom, there's the code snippet. It's revolutionizing software development; we don't have to write these kinds of things from scratch anymore.
It's mind-blowing! You have your code open in one window and the chat in another. It's like chatting with ChatGPT, but we're discussing software, all trained on real-world code.
One time, it took the code from my other window and seamlessly integrated everything I needed, correctly done. That would've taken me half a day to figure out because I'd have to dive into a bunch of new things. So suddenly, we don't have to go through the hassle of learning all this new stuff. You still need to grasp the deeper principles, which are essential.
[Perry here: I hope you're paying attention. Everything he's saying applies to marketing, advertising, competitive research.]
But there's a catch. Most software developers, including some older ones, have never really cared about reading the classics. I mean, years ago, Perry, I tried creating a meetup group called Software Classics, and I struggled to get anyone interested because everyone's fixated on the latest and hottest trends. However, I've amassed a treasure trove of classics, and I absolutely adore them. I review them, I read them, and they provide invaluable insights.
AI is like having this super intelligent partner who's deeply skilled (see an example of AI doing much better than 95% of pediatricians). But, you know, it does have its off days, sometimes it gets things wrong. You learn over time how to recognize when it's off track. You might run it and think, "Uh-oh, this doesn't seem right," and you're spot on.
We're just at the beginning of this revolution, and it's poised to open doors for folks with minimal skills. Junior developers with hardly any experience will be able to achieve what mid-level ones can do in a matter of weeks.
AI is commoditizing software. We need to take our thinking to a whole new level, and yes, it's unsettling for many.
I know there are concerns about this, and they're valid. But I'll tell you, I'm dyslexic. I didn't even realize it until we discovered my son is dyslexic. It suddenly explained so much, like why I'd struggle with interviews where you have to remember coding details, function calls, parameters, you name it. I don't remember those things well.
But what I've found is that using AI correctly, it's massively eliminating my weaknesses and amplifying my strengths. Perry, I can't even imagine coding without it anymore. It would be such a slog. It's giving me more time to think creatively, operate at a higher level, and get more done while freeing up time for other things.
