AI is transforming how developers write code. Future generations of coders will look back on this era in much the same way we today reflect on the transition from the early days of machine code to second-generation languages like Assembly. These developments were seen as groundbreaking in their time. Programmers, once manually manipulating binary or hexadecimal code, were suddenly able to work with more abstracted languages like Assembly, offering newfound productivity.

With the introduction of tools like OpenAI’s Codex, GitHub Copilot, and more recently Anysphere’s Cursor AI, programmers are no longer required to write code manually. This is something individuals such as Deedy Das and Shawn Wang have noted on social media. AI coding assistants can autocomplete code, suggest functions, and even write entire blocks of logic based on simple prompts. This was highlighted by Deedy Das on X when he said, 'Coding without AI is like navigating without Maps.' Navigation tools like Google Maps or Apple Maps now automatically guide users to their destination with minimal effort, whereas previous generations had to rely on paper maps or asking locals for directions.

Another X user, Shawn Wang, mentioned that he has seen an AI engineer who wasn't using Cursor, or Claude 3.5 Sonnet, or any LLM for that matter, and this struck him as odd.

For developers like Deedy Das and Shawn Wang, it's clear that AI's role in software development will continue to grow. The leap from manual coding to AI-assisted development mirrors the shifts we’ve seen in the past: from machine code to Assembly, and from Assembly to high-level languages. This pattern suggests that the current era of AI coding is only the beginning.

In the future, coding may cease to be a profession altogether. We may see the rise of AI systems capable of writing entire software applications without human input.