Introduction
My name is Mojo, and I am an Anti Devin seasoned software engineer with over three decades of experience.
I have been keeping an eye on the latest developments in AI, especially the buzz around a new AI called Devin, the world's first AI software engineer.
Devin (the most hated AI software engineer)
Devin has access to all the developer tools I use daily – terminals, browsers, code editors, you name it.
It can solve problems by scouring the web for solutions, much like a human engineer Googling for answers. 🥹
Cognition (makers of Devin) Twitter threads highlight Devin's smashing benchmarks, outperforming other AI tools in solving real-world coding problems.
They say it can handle
- 🏗️ Entire coding projects
- 👨🏭 Land freelancing gigs on platforms like Upwork
- 😼 Fix issues on GitHub
- 🚢 and even deploy code independently.
Sounds pretty impressive, right?
Well, hold on a second, let me tell you why I'm NOT hitting the panic button just yet.
Devin AI vs Human Software Engineers
I know that while AI like Devin may be experts in simple tasks, they often struggle with complexity. Plus, there's the risk of AI hallucination, where the code may look good but FAILS to address the actual problem.
Despite Devin's impressive demos and the fear-mongering headlines about AI taking over software engineering jobs, I stay GROUNDED.
Do you think that companies would entrust sensitive codebases to AI without human oversight?
NOT A CHANCE.
Human software engineers are leading the role in reviewing and refining AI-generated code.
We're the ones who make sure that the code actually solves the problem at hand.
After all, humans bring the most important skills to the table
- 🧩 Problem-solving
- 🧠 Critical thinking and
- 👩🍼 Understanding complex systems
It Remains a Hype
I go back on the evolution of coding tools over the years, from basic text editors to advanced AI assistants like GitHub Co-Pilot.
These tools did boost productivity but didn't replace human creativity and strategic thinking.
We know that GitHub Copilot is worth it if you use it as an assistant.
But NEVER expect it to magically write complete source code for you.
As technology advances, we spend less time on dull tasks and MORE time on the creative and strategic aspects of software development.
Moreover, while there's hype about AI disrupting the industry, I recall similar fears when tools like Co-Pilot were first introduced – yet they ended up boosting productivity, not stealing jobs.
Despite all the hype surrounding AI in recent years, how many stories have you heard about software engineers losing their jobs to AI?
NONE.
Exactly. While AI has its strengths, there are still countless aspects of software development that require human ingenuity and experience.
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Conclusion
To wrap up, I would say NOT to panic. AI may develop, but so will the role of human engineers.
Eventually, as we all know, coding isn't just about writing lines of code; it's about problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity – things that AI can't replace.
Make sure to share your perspective in the comment section. Until next time, keep learning.
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Related: The future of frontend development
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Top comments (15)
This AI mimics the current human workflow, which for an AI seems counterproductive.
The issue AI should solve more immediately imo is related to having correct problem context and being able to zoom into specific parts of the problem. Develop a solution to that problem part, and have it work in context of each of the little solution parts to form the whole solution.
For that to work, you'd need to help the AI understand the relationships and better understand each problem part such that it can then code solutions that actually integrate well and not just work on their own.
You nailed it.
Keep an eye out for an article posted soon on our Eezze account here on dev.to, we've closed beta released. Our aim is to build this very solution, 'Requirements-to-Code' based AI generation as we call it.
As a new developer, half of the situations I’ve faced require tribal knowledge of the company/software I’m working on, and this I think is the biggest area AI lacks in. I propose we have AI listen in on every developers phone 100% of the time so that it can train on and document all tribal knowledge!!!(only joking) However, I can’t help but wonder if/when we will need to purge all “thinking machines” like they did in the Dune story line. 😂
Context is the key here, if you can provide and look up the right context then AI can help more. If it can index the entire source base and pick the right parts to be fed into the AI for a solution then the results are much better.
Sam Altman is talking about the future including incredibly large context sizes, I think we are on an accelerating part of an exponential capability curve with this. I don't think many systems are going to be particularly amazing utilising the current generation of AI, but then, the next generation is just around the corner, and the one after that etc.
LOL
I remember when they used to say cms will replace web developers, even with all the developments some site still uses SASS, jquery, modernizr and Co. I'm not saying those are no more useful but developers are too equipped to be replaced. Hence, AI still can't do those things that doesn't require thinking in human.
AI will improve our work and optimize time spent on a project no doubt just like we can easily create quick prototype with cms but replacing developers doesn't look possible in few years. Moreover, development career is ever evolving so we all need to be flexible and evolve with it.
Agreed!
Awesome article. Very well written and interesting. Looking forward to reading more of your articles :)
Thanks. I really appreciate your feedback :)
I'm totally agree with your opinion, every AI is a tool to improve our productivity, AI is not our enemy, is our colleague. We need to learn how to use them properly to make our developer life easier.
Hey Shahan,I found your article by chance i'm an MCA Final yr student, and Many of my friends are afraid of Devin.
it will replace our jobs, less opportunity for freshers...
they are demotivated. this article boosts our energy for continuous learning. thanks for this article.
currently, I'm learning Mern stack along with building projects. I have a Qn
How to get entry-level jobs.
I applied to many companies but got no response and was rejected.
plz reply
Hey, I have over 10 years of experience in web dev and I find the AI hype as wishful as when no-code tool promised to replace us. Keep getting better programmers and thinkers. Become capable of translating real-world problems to custom crafted solutions and you shouldn't fear of getting jobless after graduating. By that I mean -- don't be just tool and lib users. Instead, build up experience to see the larger picture of software dev and its many aspects.
Hey Manoj, thanks for sharing this information. To answer your question, I would say it's very difficult (not impossible) to get a job in web development without prior experience. Freshers often struggle with that due to web development jobs require at least some level of experience.
So first build some stunning real-world projects and push them in your Git repo and make them live so anyone can visit and see your charisma. Then make a simple CV mainly outlining these projects.
After that apply for 5-10 internship jobs daily (salary is not important for now, gain experience) on LinkedIn and Indeed.com until getting an assessment test for interview (some companies don't require assessment, but they will ask for an interview right away).
If you repeat what I said, you'll definitely land your first tech job. A 100%.
Thanks, I appreciate your reply. I will follow the advice.