Comment by dcrazy
5 hours ago
> I am stating that we collectively exist in a professional caste and that will go away or lose influence if you let it do so. Other professional castes do this exact same brain exercise and that is why they have protections in place.
I consider this mode of thinking selfish and anti-progress. It’s pretty much exactly what Americans decry about unions.
> It’s pretty much exactly what Americans decry about unions.
If you consider a union to be a "bad thing" then we are likely going to talk past each other for eternity.
I support workers being compensated for their value; what I dislike are protectionism and ossification.
I am fortunate that software has paid me well to work on problems I am enthusiastic about solving. I understand that a lot of people on e.g. the Ford assembly line are not there because they want to make excellent cars, they’re there because they need a job. I acknowledge that I have no idea what it’s like to structure one’s life and priorities this way; it is just completely alien to me to align oneself with the task rather than the mission. And I believe that task-identification mindset is why we hear about resistance to electrification because EVs require fewer assembly steps, or Teamsters cutting power cables at trade shows if the vendor dares to plug in a TV themselves.
You're throwing around the term "ossification" like it's a guarantee or necessity tied to anything being discussed here, and that's just not the case.
Software developers should not ossify. Nowhere have I said that LLMs as a tool - used by those in this profession! - should be shunned. I was pointing out that people being totally okay with those outside our profession, those without the necessary skillsets, directly doing our work not only devalues our work.