Again, an Unknown Age

Chapter 11

It didn't take as long as I thought to get used to using AI.

At first, I learned how to ask questions well.

I had to write exactly what I wanted, explain the environment, and list what I had already done.

Otherwise, the AI would give me wrong answers too easily.

I thought it was similar to asking a person a question.

"No."

Saying that is different from saying,

"It works in operations but only this error occurs in development. The settings are like this, and the logs are normal up to here."

Those were completely different questions.

The same was true for AI.

My questions gradually got longer.

Java 21 standard.

Existing interfaces should not be changed.

Minimize changes as the system is in operation.

External API, retry impossible.

DB schema changes are prohibited.

I added conditions from the beginning.

Then the answers became a little less stupid.

Sometimes, the answers were surprisingly good.

The task I was assigned that day was to modify an old batch program.

The request was to process only specific customers separately.

In the past, it would have taken me half a day just to follow the source code. The batch program consisted of multiple classes and called other systems after querying the database in between.

I showed the AI the related files one by one.

Summarize the overall flow of this batch.

A few seconds later, the order came out.

It was roughly correct.

I added the missing parts and explained them further.

This part actually works like this.

The AI reorganized it again.

The flow became clear at a glance.

Then I entered the requirements.

In this structure, only specific customer groups should be processed separately. Suggest a modification method with minimal impact on existing functionality.

Three methods were proposed.

I didn't like the first one.

The second one changed the existing structure too much.

The third one seemed okay.

I asked it to create the code.

The AI generated the code.

I didn't use it as is.

I deleted unnecessary parts, changed the names, and modified it to fit our system.

I asked it to create tests too.

A few boundary values were missing.

I added them.

After about an hour, the basic structure was complete.

I glanced at the clock.

In the past, I would still have been reading the existing source code at this time.

It felt a little strange.

At first, it was amazing how fast the AI was, but now I felt like I would be frustrated if I worked without it.

In the afternoon, my team leader came to my desk.

"Senior, how's that batch program coming along?"

"Almost done."

The team leader looked at his watch.

"Already?"

"I need to do some more testing."

"Wasn't this supposed to take two days?"

"That's right."

The team leader looked at my monitor.

The AI window was open on one side.

"Did you use the AI?"

"I got some help."

"You seem to be using it best these days."

I smiled.

"Younger people are better at using it."

"No, they mostly use it for writing code."

The team leader pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Senior, you seem to be good at analyzing existing systems."

That comment made me feel good.

It wasn't just that I used the AI a lot.

It sounded like my long experience and the new tool were a good match.

The team leader said,

"I was going to assign another person to this."

"Who?"

"The youngest one. I was going to ask him to help."

"Probably not necessary."

I said without thinking.

"I think I can handle this alone."

The team leader nodded.

"Right? I thought so too when I looked at it."

I looked back at the screen.

At that moment, I didn't attach much importance to the conversation.

In fact, I was a little satisfied.

What used to take two days, I finished in less than a day.

I didn't need anyone's help.

I used to think that my speed would slow down as I gained experience. I thought it would be harder to stay up late like I did when I was younger and that learning new technologies would become more tedious.

But starting to use AI, the opposite happened.

The burden of encountering unfamiliar technology decreased.

In the past, when I encountered a new library, I had to read the documentation first.

Now, I ask the AI first.

I have it explain the overall structure and create a simple example. Then I only ask about the parts I need to know.

If necessary, I would look at the documentation then.

The order changed.

From studying and starting, to starting and studying as needed.

Thinking about it, that's how I've always worked.

When I was younger, I rarely read a book from beginning to end before developing.

I would unfold the necessary chapters first.

If it didn't work, I would look at the previous pages. If I still couldn't figure it out, I would find another book. The AI just made that process incredibly fast.

A few days later, I received a request from another team.

We need to change this API. Can you take a look?

I received the repository.

It was a system I had never seen before.

In the past, it would have been burdensome.

I would have spent time listening to the person in charge explain, reading the documentation, and understanding the code. This time, I asked the AI to summarize the structure of part of the repository.

I went into the meeting with a general understanding of the flow.

When the other developer started explaining, I already understood half of it.

After the meeting, the other team leader said,

"This is your first time seeing this, right?"

"Yes."

"I thought you were familiar with it."

I smiled.

I was in a pretty good mood that day.

For the first time, I thought that AI could be a tool to make my experience more useful, not just a tool that diminishes it. I didn't need to compete with young developers on code writing speed.

The AI did it faster for me.

What I had was what came next.

Whether this code could be put into operation.

Where else would this structure break.

What values could be exceptions.

Who to check with first.

The AI created the code, and I checked whether that code could survive in reality.

That combination seemed pretty good.

One day over lunch, a young developer said,

"Senior, you've been finishing your work so quickly lately."

"I use AI."

"Even so, I wouldn't know where to put the code that the AI creates."

"You'll learn with experience."

After saying that, I realized I had said it again.

The young developer laughed.

"Experience isn't everything."

"That's right."

I laughed too.

"But I'm serious. You only know which part breaks when you fix a certain area after it's broken a few times."

"Then when will I become as good as you, senior?"

"About twenty years from now?"

That friend made a disgusted expression.

"Will I still be developing then?"

I was about to laugh but stopped.

It sounded like a light joke, but that question lingered strangely.

"Why?"

"Just... when I look at AI these days, I wonder if developers will really be needed as many as they are now in the future."

This time I couldn't answer right away.

Until just a moment ago, I thought that thanks to AI, my position was becoming more secure.

I thought that using old experience and AI together was quite powerful.

But that power wasn't necessarily being used for me.

Work that two people used to do, I can now do alone.

Meeting preparations became faster, code writing became faster, and analysis became faster.

It was a good thing.

At least for me.

That afternoon, the team leader said during a meeting.

"It seems like you, senior, could handle this task alone."

It was something I would have listened to without thinking in the past.

This time, it sounded a bit different.

I can do it alone.

People aren't needed anymore.

The words were the same.

The meaning was still the same.

But between them, it seemed like there was a sentence hidden somewhere that I hadn't seen.

People aren't needed anymore.

I didn't dwell on that thought for long.

There was still a lot of work.

Three new tickets had come in, and there was code I needed to review by tomorrow.

I opened the AI window.

I pasted in the new source.

Explain the code structure first.

Answers started coming out.

I read naturally.

It wasn't even surprising anymore.

I had already become accustomed to the speed that had amazed me just a few days ago.

People adapt very quickly to convenience.

I finished the day's work earlier than usual.

I pressed the clock out button and looked at the time.

It was an hour earlier than scheduled.

I felt good.

I ran into the team leader before getting on the elevator.

"Are you leaving already?"

"I finished today's work."

The team leader laughed.

"The AI adoption is really paying off."

I laughed too.

"That's right."

The elevator door opened.

I stepped inside.

As the door closed, the team leader waved.

I waved back lightly.

The elevator started going down.

My face was reflected in the mirror.