On AI

I remember the times when C++ was the only "serious" language that was used to write software. There also things like Tcl/Tk and Perl. But only C++ was considered the true language that had the potential to take over teh future.

Then, Java appeared. I remember that magazines were split on two sides: one side was saying that Java is the language of the future, and the other side was saying that Java is not a real language, and C++ will still be the best.

Yet, Java needed to be compiled and demanded a lot of memory and CPU power.

My first IDE was Borland Turbo Pascal, and then Borlan Turbo C. I think, Java was that language that started to change the IDE world. NetBeans probably was the first "true" IDE in the meaning we understand it today.

I remember there were holywars regarding whether it was "normal" for a "real" developer to use IDEs. Many people who claimed themselves to be professional developers were against using IDEs. And those who worked with IDEs were often considered as "not real" developers.

Although, with time, the "professional programmers" slowly started to accept IDE concept, equiping their "Notepads" with plugins and extensions, making their them more like IDEs.

Then the autocompletion appeared. Now you could not only organize your code but also write it faster, and you also had refactoring mechanisms (like renaming variables). What happened next? Well, you can guess it. New holywars started: "real programmers do not use autocompletion". Like if you need autocompletion, you do not know the language well enough.

And again, many people were exhibiting their skills by writing code in Midnight Commander, and they considered IDEs and autocompletion as a sign of the degradation of the developer's skills and the industry.

When the first GPTs appeared, the were not that good at writing texts and code as they are now. But anyway that was impressive. And for sure, new holywars started: "real programmers do not use AI".

Now we have AI models that are very good (sometimes, fantastically good) at writing code and solving real problems. Noone making holywars anymore about IDEs and autocompletion, even "professional programmers" are using them on the daily basis.

I believe, this is a new era. We just should accept it. AI is the new "autocompletion": at first "real developers do not use it", but very soon it is just a normal part of life.