Episode 2259: Why AI is about to transform everyone (yes, even you) into a coder

Keen On America

We are back to AI (actually it never left us). In this THAT WAS THE WEEK tech show, Keith and Andrew talk about how AI is now enabling anyone - even non-coders - to code. "I was able to do something without having the skill to do it,” Keith confesses about his experience in building an iPhone app for teens. In the same way as Web 2.0 technologies turned all of us into broadcasters, AI makes all of us coders. So the real question is what becomes of professional coders when their skills are accessible to anyone.

The Five KEEN ON AMERICA takeaways from today’s show:

* AI is enabling coding autonomy: Keith built an app for teens without writing code himself, highlighting how AI is making software development accessible to non-coders. As Keith puts it: "I was able to do something without having the skill to do it."

* The future of coding is paradoxical: Rather than the "end of coding," Keith believes we're seeing "the beginning of coding" with potentially "100 to 1 million times more code" being created because it's becoming easier to produce. Similar to how desktop publishing tools didn't end design, but democratized it.

* The workplace is evolving toward automation: Keith discusses how the post-COVID move away from traditional offices is the first step toward automated workplaces. He borrows from Dwaresh Patel in exploring what fully automated firms might look like.

* Technical skills remain valuable but in new ways: While AI can generate code, understanding technical concepts remains important. Keith's son without coding skills provided valuable product feedback as a "product manager," showing that different skills are becoming complementary to AI capabilities.

* AI agents are transforming enterprise software: Aaron Levy's post-of-the-week suggests AI agents will replace traditional enterprise software modules, performing tasks without human intervention while achieving the same goals that previously required clunkier software and human oversight.

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