The Economic Paradox of AI-Assisted Programming: Will Cheaper Code Create More or Fewer Programmers?
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dvcoolarun
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Summary
The article explores the economic paradox of programming deflation - how AI-assisted coding tools are making software development cheaper and more accessible, which could simultaneously lead to both fewer programmers (as each becomes more productive) and more programmers (as lower barriers enable more people to enter the field). It examines this contradiction through economic principles, questioning whether cheaper programming costs will increase or decrease demand for programmers.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe genies are out of the bottle. Let's take as a given that augmented coding is steadily reducing the cost, skill barriers, and time needed to develop software.
Economics gives us two contradictory answers simultaneously. Both can't be right. Or can they?
If programs are cheaper to write today than they were yesterday, then we should be more likely to write them today. But, if programs are going to be cheaper to write tomorrow, then why not just wait until tomorrow?
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