Magic AI Secures $117M to Build an AI Software Engineer

Maybe I'm naive, but I just don't feel threatened by this at all. As a software engineer, I'd love to have an AI engineer automate the boring stuff so I can work on higher-level architecture concerns.

Yeah, lets imagine that magic:<p>Prompt: AI, production is down. Fix it. AI: working...<p>3 days later.<p>CEO: Hey, dear contractor, our Production is down for 3 days - can you fix it ? Contactor: Sure, give me $500&#x2F;hour and within 3 weeks it might work again. You know, you have 10mio SLOC, 1mio npm dependencies so it will take a &#x27;bit&#x27; longer...<p>Yes, its bit oversimplified, but imagine it ;)

2022 founded<p>145mn raised to date.<p>No demo at all.

I’m in the Penrose camp who thinks understanding is the result of quantum activity. LLMs are really good at making associations, but they don’t make “connections” in the sense that they’re able to integrate an understanding of the world to contribute to it in an original way. Also, the power efficiency of the brain relative to GPU farms. It just makes me think we’re no where even close.<p>I certainly hope that’s the case. I really like programming and building things for money, fun, and status.

We shouldn&#x27;t be surprised when capital tries to eat its children.<p>It&#x27;d probably be best if we all learned some agriculture and opted for simpler lives, rebuilt our social capital (aka community) and learned to do leisure like sane people. The rat race has never thanked anyone for participating, not even software engineers.

As an open source contributor not only did you give your software away for free but you also trained the AI robots who will take away your day job?

Just wait till the AI has to update npm packages. I think I’m safe.

No matter which side of the debate you fall on, it would be interesting to discuss the practical impact and timeframe of any AI software engineer.<p>I think a realistic timeframe is about 15 years from the time someone releases a viable tool to complete replacement of the last engineer. About half way through the pressure on salaries will become noticeable. I base this guess on how companies typically operate and how long practical adoption of smaller technology changes take.<p>In the first half there should be both a downward pressure due to the threat of replacement but at the same time an upward pressure for the same reason. New grads will stop coming and existing engineers can look forward to being phased out and command a premium for as long as they can.<p>Another possibility is that it doesn‘t quite get good enough, but regardless students start picking other subjects, creating a temporary shortage that sustains existing employees. Employees will just be reduced through retirement with half being retired after 20 years of this process anyway.<p>Yet another possibility is that a half-assed tool only reduces demand - again that can be fixed through retirement plus less or no new people joining the field.

Yawn. The bubble is popping.