IBM Promised FORTRAN Would End Coding in 1954. It Didn't.
The compiler was supposed to end programming too
Every few decades, someone declares programming dead: FORTRAN in 1954, a BASIC generator called The Last One in 1981, and now coding agents. Each time, one tedious part of the job vanished and the work moved up a level. The difference this time is speed: AI tools went from novelty to default in four years. Yet Stack Overflow data shows developers increasingly distrust AI output, and a METR trial found experienced developers took 19% longer with AI while believing it helped.
The clock said that with AI they took 19% longer. Nineteen percent longer! And they walked away sure it had helped.