Optionality, AI and the future of engineering
Never has the distinction between coding and engineering been more stark.
And the chasm will only grow.
Anyone can learn to write code; now AI can write it too.
But software engineering has never just been about writing code. What separates an engineer from a hacker or some AI agent is the optionality of the software they create.
Maintaining the optionality of software is something that requires judgment - it’s always a tradeoff space.
More flexibility, maintainability, and reliability tomorrow? Or something delivered to users today?
The value and meaning of things like ‘flexibility’ will vary in every context and for every person. They are fundamentally human concerns.
An AI can undoubtedly help provide the information to help make this decision and indeed could be trained to make these decisions for you.
But the calculus it will use is still determined by a human to begin with. Ultimately, there still needs to be that initial creative spark to set the machine in motion. There will never be a context window large enough to fit the unique constraints and advantages you face as an individual, team or company when making design decisions.
Software engineering has never just been about writing code. It’s a human practice of solving problems creatively. The tools and skills we use to solve these problems have always been evolving, and AI will be the biggest change yet.
The days of the coder are numbered. But the future of engineering looks bright.
If you’d like to hear me discuss AI and the future of engineering further, you can watch this podcast recorded with fractional CMO Mark Bishop last week.