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> We coded in assembler, then used macros, then a language like C, Fortran, then more of Java/Go/Puthon/Rust/Ruby et al.

The difference is that:

1) All of those things are deterministic [1]

2) In all of those cases I can debug at the level of the abstraction.

[1] Meaning: Do exactly what I say. Don't make it up.

I agree with your overall point.

In a certain sense I'd say optimizing compilers aren't deterministic:

The same source code can produce different object code, depending on data and algorithms into which a typical programmer has little insight.

Crucially, optimizers are supposed to be semantics-preserving, and if they aren't that's considered a major problem.

Being a bit pedantic. Globally but not locally deterministic

Your brain's not deterministic.