[FRIAM] IT software dev / coding

Mon Apr 20 14:00:16 EDT 2026

Other definitions: Drudgery should be relieved.  A stronger form is to maximize, even require, innovation but not allowing simple activities.  I think this is distinct from efficiency, which might have another motivation to live modestly -- compress to make room to grow rather than compress to not cause harm (“harm” defined somehow).   Capitalism gets at this, but not completely because planning is short horizon.

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Steve Smith
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 10:06 AM
To: friam at redfish.com
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] IT software dev / coding

In the spirit of alien-thinking:

Norbert Weiner (1950) sed: When we use humans as components in a machine—reducing them to repetitive, protocol-bound roles—we “chain a man to a thwart,” turning him into an inferior machine. 

Commodification and automation are dual operations that reorganize the relationship between affordances and competencies across a (heterarchical) system (of systems).

In this case there are two (or more) systems superposed:  The systemic metabolism attempting to extract work and redistribute resources and the "distributed cognition" system (cultural norms, government regulations, religious unctions) attempting to organize elements to effect that extraction/redistribution?

We are in (yet another) phase transition where formerly innovative/creative processes have become commodified to the point that they can be automated, which is part of a cascade of "yet more" commodification and automation.

A third (and most salient to well adjusted human biengs and other sentients perhaps?) is that of meaning whose objective is to justify and stabilize participation through stablized idnetity, dignity narrative, ethics, using ideas like purpose fairness, value and "shoulds".

To summarize:  Dave's "should" seems to superpose the logic of the metabolism (should automate to optimize efficiency) and the meaning realm with something like "everyone would be happier and more well adjusted" if they were to give over to this commodification.

On 4/20/26 9:16 am, glen wrote:

There's a reading of Dave's OP not considered in this thread. He used the word "should": "several hundred thousand developers/software engineers should be replaced with AI and automated out of existence". Of course, there is a usage of "should" that's more of a prediction than a moral imperative. E.g. "We expect several hundred ...". But I didn't read it that way. I read Kass' 5 questions ([mis]informed or not) as an ethical stance. And Dave extended it to imply that those developers *should* be obsoleted, according to Kass' ethic. 

Granted, many others are being obsoleted. But should they? Should they according to Kass' ethic? Something else like the one I forwarded? Does everyone have their own persnickety set of rules? 

A practical (though perhaps cynical or even nihilist) approach is to [in|ab]ductively arrive at what *should* happen based on what *is* happening, rather than stumbling into axioms of occult provenance. How and when to map is-should is the fundamental question, much more important than whichever individual rules might be adopted. 

On 4/20/26 7:53 AM, cody dooderson wrote: 

I agree with Marcus. It is not just software developers that are getting replaced by AI. Book writers, musicians, lawyers and many other professions are seeing competition from AI. 
This article about an AI author just showed up on Hacker news, https://theamericanscholar.org/who-is-blake-whiting/  <https://theamericanscholar.org/who-is-blake-whiting/> <https://theamericanscholar.org/who-is-blake-whiting/> . Apparently the books get very good reviews, but the author doesn't actually exist. 
I would speculate that almost any desk jockey profession is at risk. 

_ Cody Smith _ 
d00d3rs0n at gmail.com <mailto:d00d3rs0n at gmail.com>   <mailto:d00d3rs0n at gmail.com> <mailto:d00d3rs0n at gmail.com> 

On Wed, Apr 15, 2026 at 4:27 PM Marcus Daniels <marcus at snoutfarm.com <mailto:marcus at snoutfarm.com>   <mailto:marcus at snoutfarm.com> <mailto:marcus at snoutfarm.com>> wrote: 

    Dave writes: 

    < It seems to me, based on fifty years working in business IT development, 
    that several hundred thousand developers/software engineers should be 
    replaced with AI and automated out of existence. > 

    It's a growing list, and where it is weak, it mostly just a question of 
    getting the token expenditure high enough while providing tools and 
    grounding / embodiment. 

    For sysadmin work, the main obstacle is having (something like) hands to 
    open boxes, power cycle, and that sort of thing.   The other day Claude Code 
    set up a multi-architecture Kerberos server for me with NFSv4. 

    Traditional software development is mostly done IMO. 

    Also, building architecture is done.   Claude Opus is surprisingly skilled 
    at building plans.   That will only accelerate IMO. 

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