Comment by 578_Observer

Comment by 578_Observer 4 days ago

Writing from rural Japan.

You are witnessing the "Hyper-inflation of Syntax." If you measure your worth by LOC (Lines of Code), you are right to be afraid. AI has driven the cost of syntax to near zero.

But here is what I see in my work with old Japanese manufacturers (Shinise): When "Crafting" becomes cheap, "Responsibility" becomes the premium asset.

AI can write 15k lines of code, but it cannot take *Liability* for a single one. It cannot go to jail, it cannot lose its reputation, and it cannot feel the weight of a system failure.

Your job is shifting from "Writer" to "Guardian." Don't compete on volume (Scale). Compete on the ability to take the blame and guarantee the "Why." That is the one thing the algorithm can never optimize away.

funnyfoobar 4 days ago

Yeah you are right, I am underselling myself in terms of just watering it down to LOC. But I was mostly talking about tangible outcomes that are obvious.

> AI can write 15k lines of code, but it cannot take Liability for a single one.

Thanks for writing this, I needed it.

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578_Observer 4 days ago

Glad it resonated.
The addiction to "visible output" (like LOC) is hard to break because it feels like work. But in the AI era, "Judgment" is the new labor.
Think of it like a traditional Japanese Hanko (seal). The value isn't in the paper or the ink (which are cheap/commodities), but in the authority of the stamp that guarantees the content.
Your "tangible result" is no longer the code itself, but the trust that comes from your seal of approval. Keep guarding.

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senordevnyc 4 days ago

Even if this is true, which I doubt, we're supposed to be comforted by the idea that our role in tomorrow's economic system is to be AI's whipping boy?

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578_Observer 3 days ago

There is a critical difference between a "Scapegoat" and a "Guarantor."
A scapegoat is sacrificed for someone else's mistake against their will. A guarantor (or in Japanese terms, a Samurai) voluntarily stakes their reputation to validate the system.
Why does a CEO get paid 100x more than an intern? Not because they type 100x faster, but because they are the "designated thermal fuse" that burns out to save the company.
If AI becomes the engine, "being the fuse" (taking the risk) becomes the most expensive service in the economy. It’s not comforting, I agree. But it is profitable.

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rboyd 4 days ago

We have multiple openings for Senior and Principal Scapegoat Engineers. DM for referral.

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satvikpendem 3 days ago

You don't have to use AI. Regardless, only humans can take responsibility, not computers, and that will never change.

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gmreads 3 days ago

Although I do understand the analogy being made here. But I suspect OP much like myself is hoping for concrete suggestions. To my mind argument is Software Jobs will shrink and only the very elites will be valuable aka the recent Meta's 10s of millions of offers. But for the rest of average Joes it will be harsh job market or even non existent. So what can the average programmer do , concretely.

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578_Observer a day ago

A concrete proposal? Become an Auditor, not an Author.
As AI generates billions of lines of code, the world is about to be flooded with "technical debt" and "security holes." The scarcity shifts from writing code to verifying it.
Concrete Action: Shift your skill set towards security auditing, compliance, and system architecture verification. Position yourself as the "Digital Notary" who stamps the AI's work with a human guarantee.
When a bank (like mine) lends money to a software project, we don't ask "Did an AI write this?" We ask "Which human is going to jail if this fails?"
Be the person whose name is on the insurance policy. That is a job an algorithm can never take.

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- luckman212 19 minutes ago
  
  Are there many jobs where failure results in jail time? Pretty dystopian.
  
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