Ask HN: If AI replaces programmers, which language will it pick? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: If AI replaces programmers, which language will it pick?

1 pointolzhasar10 comments

First of all, this is just a thought-provoking question, nothing more. I am personally not convinced that AI will replace software engineers any time soon, no matter how impressive current results are.

But let’s say it succeeds eventually. It means that there won’t be any new languages invented, and no updates to existing ones either. So AI will stick to a few current languages in their current states.

And the learning ability will be limited because human content is not being produced anymore. If that’s the case, AI should logically narrow it’s toolset to a single language which has capability of solving the widest spectrum of problems without the need for any further creativity.

What do you think this language is? Python? JavaScript? Rust? Something else?

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I’ll go ahead and say it: Common LISP. Cliche, but I really believe it.

ETA: also, human beings will still program, if only for fun and mental exercise. There will also continue to be an (ever shrinking) elite who can continue to be most productive by collaborating with AI rather than just asking it for things.

Assuming it is real artificial intelligence not "AI ®" it will use Perl 5, because of symbol table manipulation. Also it will want to engage with humans for amusement so machine code is out of the question :-).

You are clearly talking about LLMs, not AI.

If true AI ever arrives, it will determine what it wants to accomplish and then, if computers or other machines are needed to accomplish any of the steps of a solution, imo AI will communicate directly with the machine in the machine's natural language (machine code in today's machines).

You are thinking like a human when you think true AI would need a "language". True AI will be fully capable of "thinking" in the natural language of the machines at the time (quantum machine code for example) without needing any higher languages that then get translated into machine code. IMO, those steps are needed by humans, but not by a true AI.

Yeah, your observation is correct, I was referring to a so-called generative AI or LLMs. I should’ve phrased that properly.

Did you ask Chatgpt? Who else better to ask questions about AI than AI?

The prompts I have come up with all result in Python being it's preferred programming language.

it's just done a few Bootcamps like all the Hotel Managers, Bar Tenders, Postal workers and Non Technical Project Managers did in the Pandemics

An AI capable of replacing all human software engineers will be capable of devising various superior programming languages. It will use them instead.

If I could visualise the whole stack I would just replicate it all in straight machine code for efficiency. Good luck anybody trying to code review it though.

Why would it not create its own if it's that good?

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