Rebutting "Code Was Never the Hard Part" in the Age of AI
inductionheads · x · 2026-08-10
As the AI revolution reshapes software development, a popular narrative suggests that "coding was never the hard part; figuring out what to build is." Author Senko Rašić strongly rebuts this, calling it a gross insult to all programmers.
Through a series of rhetorical questions, the author points out: if coding is easy, why have programmers been in high demand with high salaries for years? Why do doorstopper books like Clean Code or entire college degrees exist? Why is software still so buggy? Conversely, if deciding what to build is the hardest part, why do so many product managers seem clueless?
The article emphasizes that programming and system design are inherently challenging professional skills. In the AI era, rather than devaluing code, we must acknowledge the true complexity of engineering.
Related event: Rebutting "Coding Was Never Hard": Engineering Reflections in the AI Era(5 posts)→
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