Earlier this week, Cognition Labs revealed what they claim to be “the first AI Software Engineer”.
In a provocative reveal video, CEO Scott Wu introduces himself as a “Human Software Engineer” before presenting Devin, a seemingly autonomous AI agent that can “work” just like a software engineer would.
The response has been hysterical. Tech Twitter has imploded with post after post, reaction after reaction. Fear, worry, wonder, amazement, anger. Doom and gloom has become a common sight.
But are we really witnessing the engineering of our own replacement?
I think it goes deeper than that.
The Revolution of More
For greed, all nature is too little.
Seneca
What do I mean by this? Well, what does “Devin” really represent?
Devin is an idea. It is the latest in a long, slow march through time to satisfy our endless desire of having more and doing less.
If history is any indicator, what happens next is predictable:
- People will adapt
- Standards will be raised
- Opportunity will be created
- Talent will be dispersed
- Desire will be satisfied
…And on and on again.
Human are a greedy bunch and it won’t be long before yesterday’s revolution is today’s boredom and apathy.
There is no better example, perhaps, than the Web itself. What started off as a series of simple text documents grew into an unfathomably vast tangle of articles, pictures, song, videos, games, social networks, encyclopedias, real-time applications, grandma’s unhinged political rants, etc.
In short, software “ate” the world but it was the world that had an appetite for such a desire in the first place. It is insatiable.
The Future Is Recursion
The so-called highest goal is like the horizon. The further you move towards it the further it recedes. The goal, like the horizon, is not really there…
…There is nothing that you can do. Still, it is desire that keeps you moving. No matter in which direction you move, it is the same.
U.G. Krishnamurti
What does the future look like? It will… look a lot like the past.
People will continue to desire things. People will continue to struggle to understand what those desires are. And you, my dear reader, will work on bringing those desires to life. You will work to create even more value.
The only question will be how?
Will our tools change? Yes, but that’s nothing new. They’ve been changing (and improving) all along.
Will code become “cheap”? It already has. It’s never been easier to create software and yet here we are.
On and on we go.
Mian Labs 
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