AI and the changing way we work

As a software engineer, I can see that the growing use of AI will threaten opportunities for software developers. At the same time, it's just the latest part of a way of working that has never stopped changing.

Change is nothing new

We went from travelling on foot to riding horses, and then to driving cars. We went from sewing by hand to looms, and then to factories. Each of those changes transformed how people lived and worked.

Great good, and great difficulty

Changes like these can affect great swathes of society. They can bring great good, while causing great difficulty for the people they affect. AI is one such change.

Where I stand

Even though it’s going to affect my own industry, AI is here, and it’s here to stay. I believe it’s a good thing.

But we need to recognise its benefits and, at the same time, work at a societal level to mitigate the negatives. Society needs to step up and manage the changing environment.

On a personal level, I’m using AI extensively. My employer actively encourages its use where appropriate, and at home I’ve been using it to accelerate my work and to make things that wouldn’t have been possible without it, at least not for me, in the limited time I have. We’re still in the very early years of AI adoption. We need to proceed carefully but optimistically, because this is a technology that could be beneficial in so many ways.