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The Mythical Machine-Month Paradox – How much could AI change programming?

How well do the claims of an AI-dominated future for computer programming hold up against the reality of modern software systems? Are we truly headed for a …

Visions of startups creating the next big thing often dominate how we discuss software development, but the reality is that most engineers spend the majority of their time working within existing codebases that may have been around for years or even decades. The challenge here is that AI would have to immediately offer the value of an experienced engineer who already understands the theoretical model of the software in their mind, not merely the ability to write code quickly combined with the knowledge of a complete novice to the project. If we combine this lurking danger with lax languages like JavaScript and Python that don't work hard to protect the programmer from common kinds of mistakes then a future full of security vulnerabilities feels inevitable.

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