ChatGPT Explained - THE END OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
ChatGPT is an amazing AI that has the potential to take over the world and deprive software engineers of jobs. Or does it...? 🤔
ChatGPT
Hey Pirates. Today, I'll talk about ChatGPT, an AI chatbot system everyone is hyped about. To start, I do believe ChatGPT is impressive. I was mind-blown when I saw it writing code for Tetris, solving LeetCode problems, and answering general questions. But is it really that almighty and intelligent enough to replace software engineers soon? Before I answer that, I'm PK, a software engineer in Seattle. I used to work at Microsoft, Amazon, and ebay. You can find out more about me on my website, including my free Python and web development curriculums. Check them out in the links below.
AI Assistant
So can ChatGPT replace software engineers? My short answer to that is no. You can even ask it yourself. For example, hey, ChatGPT, will you replace software engineers? It says, "As a language model, I am a machine learning model designed to generate human-like text. While I can provide information and assistance on a wide range of topics, I am not capable of replacing software engineers or performing the tasks that they do. Language models like me are not able to perform the same tasks as software engineers, and we do not have the ability to create or modify software systems. Instead, we are used to assist with tasks such as generating written content or responding to questions, and we rely on the expertise and skills of software engineers and other professionals to build and maintain the systems and technologies that we rely on."
Capability
There are two key takeaways, the first of which is "assist." I like how ChatGPT uses the term "assist" here because it accurately describes what it's supposed to do. It can "assist" other software engineers by finding information, providing a boilerplate template, and recommending resources. But! That's about it. It's not at the level capable of writing a fully functional, high-quality app. What software engineers do in the industry isn't just writing APIs, simple CRUDs, and such; it's much more complicated than that. Can ChatGPT be used to develop customized features tailored to a company's specific product? And can it continue to maintain the app to meet future market needs? Uh-uh. Just as it confessed, it's an AI assistant programmed to "assist" users by providing information and answering questions to the best of its ability.
The second key takeaway is "reliance." It says, "we rely on the expertise and skills of software engineers and other professionals to build and maintain the systems and technologies that we rely on." In other words, it's limited by the technologies of its developers. Thus, it can only get as good as its creators.
Anecdote
So, guys, ChatGPT is an unbelievable AI chatbot. You can get accurate and detailed answers to most of your questions in a matter of seconds. But if you suddenly doubt the software engineering career path thinking the AIs will overtake your future, please don't. They won't. I'm also surprised to see how rapidly technology is evolving. However, we're still a great distance away from getting replaced by machines. I can't predict the future, but let me share an anecdote. More than a decade ago, back when I was still in college, many believed that the software engineering profession had oversaturated. The so-called "experts" thought that AIs would soon replace software engineers, and we would soon be out of jobs. Sounds similar? The moral of the story is to stop doubting and continue coding. People asked the same questions ten years ago, and some even predicted the salaries of software engineers to go down due to market saturation. But what actually happened? New technologies such as machine learning, AI, and cloud computing emerged. And their emergence only taught us one thing: there's still a vast amount of problems to solve in this world. Pirates, there's still plenty of work to do, and no, software engineers aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Stay on course.
Final Thoughts
Alright, guys. I shared my thoughts on ChatGPT and the possibility of AIs taking over our jobs. Long story short, it still needs to be more sophisticated to replace us. And I don't think our technology is mature enough to teach that sophistication to a machine yet. If ChatGPT and the emergence of AIs somehow demotivated you from pursuing this field, worry not. They still have a long way to go. Just continue studying, continue coding, and continue pursuing your dream.
Pathrise
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Thanks, guys. Remember to like an subscribe. I'll see you at the next one. Bye.
