The technology is out there, available for anyone with an internet connection. Insane. If you have interacted with ChatGPT, it should be immediately clear that this isn’t Alexa, Siri, or ‘OK, Google.’ This is something new that will reshape how humans create. Strap in, embrace it, and avoid the easiest route of existential threat.
We are taking a break from the usual content this week to talk about something that both scares the hell out of me and sparks awe – ChatGPT. The implications of this technology are so general that it is difficult to avoid divergent, runaway speculation. In this article, I focus on the practical implications of a tool like ChatGPT for a software engineer like myself.
With ChatGPT as such an accessible and erudite resource, my immediate reaction is, As a developer, what am I good for now? I pride myself on being able to cleverly solve problems with software. How do I find the joy of helping people if ChatGPT is readily available, free, and often more capable than me at a specific task?
ChatGPT is Here: Get Over It
So…you worry that your precious skill has been disrupted and you have little security in your identity and ability to be helpful. It has happened to many before you and will continue to happen to those who believe they can ride a single skill to the grave. As we are continually reminded, no skill or ability is that special anymore.
“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.”
Stewart Brand
Time to step up and face what’s coming! Where do we go from here?
Architects from the Start
For every motivated software engineer, there comes a day when they must step away from writing code to begin breaking apart problems and designing solutions for others to implement.
I am in this exact situation now. I love to code, but I need to begin exercising my system design skills. In the early transition to this new technology, this will still include coaching junior engineers in implementing software designs. Eventually, the junior engineer will be replaced by queries to a Large Language Model like ChatGPT.
Fighting your way through difficult code, learning how to deal with the complexity of large projects, and specializing in something specific (e.g., a programming language or a piece of hardware) are all things the software engineer of the future will be liberated from.
Coming out of university, I believe the software engineer of the future will simply be a system architect who knows how to ask a Large Language Model like ChatGPT the right questions to generate the vision they have. They will be able to skip the 3-5 years of code/hardware specialization.
ChatGPT: High-Level System, Details Later
If you want to be successful in the future as a software engineer, you must be creative and think at the system level. Use ChatGPT to design systems that automate meeting basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter.
Start from the top-down. Is your goal something big or something small? Write it down and start breaking it into sub-problems. Can’t think of how to break it apart? Ask ChatGPT!
In the example above, I asked ChatGPT to help me develop a problem set to meet the end goal of desalinating water to help a small population. ChatGPT responded with a useful, 8-point list. Now, I have 8 tasks to target for design and improvement. While ChatGPT was able to help with the plan, ChatGPT is not going to perform all 8 of these tasks alone. There is plenty of work left for a human. ChatGPT is not going to help us simply by existing. Human interaction is REQUIRED.
My hope is that this kind of tool is used to meet many human needs through automation, securing our population.
Strong Character Needed
Today, the early stumbling of an inexperienced software engineer has little effect on the large system they belong to. In the future, when a software engineer designs a large-scale and accidentally flawed system with ChatGPT, the consequences will be far more drastic. Future software engineers should be taught and frequently reminded of their responsibility when using this kind of tool.
Careful consideration of each new technology that is developed using this tool is required. We need engineers with discipline and character.
Conclusion
I hope that this article sparks hope in those (like me) who see a tool like ChatGPT and consequently fear that they are no longer useful. Our responsibility has grown greatly and the stakes are high, but with strong character, I think the future is bright for humanity.
On a closing note, I am embracing this technology and I refuse to be steamrolled. Moving forward, my articles will focus on design and architecture. Any code implementation will be carried out by Large Language Models like ChatGPT, then integrated by me to meet the final design requirements.
Please leave a comment if you find this thought-provoking or have anything to add to the headings I have here.
If you are interested in reading about some of my other projects (which were not implemented by AI), please check out the following:
Thanks for reading!
-Travis
Very insightful point of view to a powerful and intimidating new technology. I too hope that it will be used as a tool to help humanity.