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ZDNET's key takeaways
AI coding tools act like power tools for programmers.
Programming jobs will change, but not disappear entirely.
New tester and AI-wrangler roles will grow alongside coders.
Something terrifying is happening in the world of programming. Demand for coders has collapsed. Up until this year, programming has been considered one of the most secure, predictable, and lucrative career options. But now, we're seeing reports that employment for programmers has collapsed to its lowest level since 1980.
On the surface, the connection is obvious. AI agents are able to write code and do so much faster and cheaper than professional programmers. Code is structured text, something AIs are particularly well-suited to understand and reproduce.
Also: 10 things I wish I knew before trusting Claude Code to build my iPhone app
Therefore, it seems a foregone conclusion that with programmers being so expensive for companies to hire, and AI coding tools being so much less expensive, companies are going to replace all their coders with AIs.
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