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The economics of software are very different from physical goods. Margins on software (products) are orders of magnitude higher. Any cost shaving done at coding
by idiocratic 6mo ago
The economics of software are very different from physical goods. Margins on software (products) are orders of magnitude higher. Any cost shaving done at coding time is economically irrelevant in the long run, detrimental to quality/reputation and could almost be seen as a risk. Furthermore, assuming the bottleneck in this process has so far been coding is pure BS.
- rhubarbtree 6mo agoMargins on software will no longer be what they were, that’s the point. Commoditisation means software values will head to zero. Margins will depend on factors unconnected to the software itself. For example, brand, distribution, network effects, lock on, proprietary data. It doesn’t matter whether coding was “the bottleneck”. It’s irrelevant. Fact is it used to be expensive to create software and now you’ll be to create it for super cheap. Yes, it won’t be as good. But the price will be so low it won’t matter. This is what commoditisation means. Forget the economics of software as you know it, that has ended.
- rhubarbtree 6mo agoThe cope island of objections will continue to shrink. Being able to easy create apps means huge supply, which means commodification of software just like the commodification of physical goods. Mass supply means low prices. It won’t be economic to have artisan coders any more than to have artisan goods makers.
- yladiz 6mo agoAnd yet people still want artisan goods, artwork, high end food, things that aren’t “economic”.
- rhubarbtree 6mo agoVery, very, few people buy these things.
- yladiz 6mo agoOkay? It doesn't refute my point.
- rhubarbtree 6mo agoThe point is that artisanal code is to a first approximation a thing of the past. Most engineers will not have a job writing code in these niches that survive, and thus coding as a career is effectively dead.
- Ravus 6mo ago> assuming the bottleneck in this process has so far been coding is pure BS. This is the core insight for most businesses. When evaluating the impact of AI on velocity, the first thing to consider is how long it takes for a one-line code change to get into production, including initial analysis and specs. You can't get faster than this.