First of all, yes, this is a provocative prompt that bears engagement. You're right to be concerned.
I share your frustration with the reticence of seasoned engineers to engage with these tools.
However, "structuring and executing large-scale changes in entire repositories" is not a capability that is routinely proven out, even with SOTA models in hellaciously wasteful agentic workflows. I only offer a modest moderation. They'll get there, some time between next week and 2030.
Consider: Some of the most effective engineers of today cut their teeth writing assembly, fighting through strange dialects of C or otherwise throwing themselves against what are now incontestibly obselete technologies but otherwise honed their engineering skills to a much higher degree than their comrades who glided in on Java's wing.
Observe that months of hand-sculpted assembly has turned into a single Python call. AI is yet another tier of abstraction.
Another lens is application -- AI for X domain, for X group, for X age, for X culture. Lots to do there.
Finally, there's empowerment. If this technology is so powerful, do you concede that power to others? Or are you going to be a part of the group that ensures it benefits all?
FYI, OpenAI published a labor market study suggesting professions that are more or less exposed to AI. Take a look.
I share your frustration with the reticence of seasoned engineers to engage with these tools.
However, "structuring and executing large-scale changes in entire repositories" is not a capability that is routinely proven out, even with SOTA models in hellaciously wasteful agentic workflows. I only offer a modest moderation. They'll get there, some time between next week and 2030.
Consider: Some of the most effective engineers of today cut their teeth writing assembly, fighting through strange dialects of C or otherwise throwing themselves against what are now incontestibly obselete technologies but otherwise honed their engineering skills to a much higher degree than their comrades who glided in on Java's wing.
Observe that months of hand-sculpted assembly has turned into a single Python call. AI is yet another tier of abstraction.
Another lens is application -- AI for X domain, for X group, for X age, for X culture. Lots to do there.
Finally, there's empowerment. If this technology is so powerful, do you concede that power to others? Or are you going to be a part of the group that ensures it benefits all?
FYI, OpenAI published a labor market study suggesting professions that are more or less exposed to AI. Take a look.