OpenAI Chairman says it's "hard, emotionally" to let AI write his code: 'I have a hard time not caring'

"I am trying to get to a world where I'm not writing code. It's hard, emotionally, if that makes any sense. I have a hard time not caring. I've been trying to force myself to not care because I feel like I won't be a self-actualized software engineer in the future if I'm too precious about that artifact which used to be so central to me."

"That's a luxury that perhaps is akin to what a modern saddle maker enjoys when you go, 'Oh, the letter's just right, and the stitching is just right.' And you're like, 'Okay, but you're no longer part of the main production for transportation.' And I'm like, 'Well, so what?' I'll continue to make my handwritten code saddles as long as I want."

Bret Taylor, OpenAI's chairman, acknowledges difficulty in accepting a future where he no longer writes code, despite recognizing this transition is necessary. He values code correctness and robustness but is working to overcome his emotional attachment to coding. This struggle reflects broader concerns among software engineers facing automation of their core work. Some industry figures suggest hand-written code may become an artisan skill, similar to traditional saddlemaking in a car-dominated world. Others question the evolving role of software engineers as AI coding agents become increasingly capable of automating most programming tasks.

Read at Business Insider