Automated my work(code) and may lose job

Question

I'm working for a local software company, where I build the Front-End part and make any changes asked by the client. In the beginning if any changes were asked by the client then I need to make those changes through the Code and so it would be difficult for someone else(who does not have the knowledge about programming) to do it. But now I have upgraded(made the code Dynamic) the code of Front-End and to manage it, we have created an Admin panel for the client to do any required changes himself or by anybody who doesn't need to have any programming knowledge. So now my employer doesn't need me anymore.

I know that if I'm laid off from this company, someone else will hire me, but eventually this will end someday when there won't be need to more Upgrade the code or I won't be able to upgrade it or someone else will create a Program that will upgrade the code itself...

All the Software Developers are working on to make the AI/ML better. Currently according to our ability we humans have been able to built Software(like Wix, Canva) and Machines(like Tesla) which do some tasks by itself. So can we say that Jobs like Website building, Logo designing, Driving cars, Data Entry and much more are taken away from us by AI/ML. Lets say if not 100% but at some extent it does affect our employability and in future it will be worse.

By noticing the growth and development in the Tech industry, nothing seems impossible to me to happen. Even currently there are many things in which humans cannot compete with robots or even come close to that. Just imagine if someday the Robots are capable of doing everything what we are capable of... Like they can build other robots like themselves or even better than that. (I think this is where we are heading towards)

So my Question is, did I do the Right thing? And are we Engineers doing the right thing?

Answer 1

We can try to look at this from a positive angle.

1. First, the company will still need you to maintain and improve the automation process. There may be new features added to the automation system in the future for you guys to work on.
2. Second, you are right that there are other companies that will appreciate your ability to write code for automation system. You won't be out of jobs.
3. Some people used to be afraid that computers and robots will take over all people's jobs. However, in reality, people can always learn how to use computers and robots, which means there are always new jobs for human.

Answer 2

So my Question is, did I do the Right thing?

Did you get paid? Could you life a comfortable life and provide for your family? Did nobody get hurt in the process? If the answers are yes, then I guess it was the right thing to do.

And are we Engineers doing the right thing?

There have been Engineers for thousands of years. Are there still jobs in Aqueduct planning? Well, they changed a bit. And they work with planning software now, not on a chalk board. But it's still engineering.

AI/ML will automate some things. "Stupid" things. But if I had to characterize all my customers and stakeholders in one quote, it would be

That is just what I asked for... but not what I wanted.

If the AI revolution does not start by replacing customers first, it will never replace engineers. Engineers are problem solvers. They don't take orders literally, or if they do they fail. They will look at the problem and find a solution. If I fed my bosses requirements into an AI, oh boy. I hope everybody got insurance. Because one thing that people aren't made for is presenting their problem and requirements for a solution in a logical way. And AI is only good if the problem is well described.

Yes, "programming" as in typing on a keyboard might go away. There might be better ways to interface with machines in the future. But there will always be a need to be a human-logic-to-machine-logic translator. Someone who describes the problem and it's constraints in a way that the problem solving mechanism can understand it. There is no real difference whether that mechanism is an AI in 2072 or 500 workers in 5000 BC. Someone needs to be that interface.

So, if you think of yourself as a problem solver, and the compiler and computers as your current tools, then your tools may change, your job will not. If you think of yourself as a code monkey who cannot actually solve problems, but only "code", then there will be a problem in the future.

Just for reference, when I got out of school, pocket sized-computers that did on-the-fly translations from one language into another were Star Trek material. Star Trek! Beaming, Phasers, Space Ships, that kind of science fiction.

Today, you can get one as overnight express shipping from Amazon for less then $100 delivered to your doorstep by tomorrow.

And if anything, it created more jobs for engineers.

Answer 3

So my Question is, did I do the Right thing? And are we Engineers doing the right thing?

Yes, progress is what engineering is about on the leading edge. And there will always be a leading edge although some engineering skills will become outdated (not many blacksmiths around these days compared to the old days).

It's just like any other profession, a breakthrough can leave a room of people unemployed. When I first started working there was a typing pool, a bunch of lovely ladies who just typed copies of whatever was needed and took dictation. Highly skilled work. Eventually microfiche, printers and computers arrived and they were obsolete. I can do more at home than that whole roomful could manage.

Eventually, probably in the near future the software engineering bubble will pop just like all the rest. There is nothing you can do to stop that.

To continue the blacksmith analogy it was originally the domain of the elites, then it became mundane and they were everywhere, now it's virtually disappeared. Software engineering is in the middle phase and things move a lot faster these days.