Are developers like chefs now? 5 things I keep thinking about.

Anyone can build software today, and we all have the same ingredients. What does that mean for our profession? Here are a few things I keep thinking about.

1. Anyone can cook. Yet, a line cook, a Michelin chef, a restaurateur, a cookbook author, and a food YouTuber all have completely different careers, incomes, and ambitions. Is this the new model for developers?

2. AI makes building typical software cheaper. The interesting thing is there are whole swaths of software that weren't practical to make before, because they were too expensive or too technically difficult. But we don't have those constraints anymore. You can do anything, what will you do?

3. Every customer can now cook for themselves. They can ask AI to build them a tool instead of using yours. If they can do that, then why do they pay you for yours? Sure, they can build it in a weekend. But can they keep it running for five years?

4. We all have access to the same models and libraries, but there are loads of things that are unique to us. Things like customer relationships, proprietary data, industry knowledge, and insights. What do you have that no one else has?

5. Junior programmers became senior programmers by doing grunt work, being able to overhear senior developers figure out how to solve problems, and generally leveling up by learning the trade. If AI does all that now, how does the current generation turn into the next generation of senior engineers?

Everyone can cook. Not everyone wants to cook, and almost nobody wants to run a restaurant. Just like cooking, AI changes what people choose to do themselves, vs what they pay specialists to do.

I guess the only question left is... what kind of chef do you want to be?