The world is in the hands of software developers. Developers are powerful individuals, the architects of the new world. Society will sooner or later (maybe too late?) realize this.
The rise of the new gods
The rate at which our world becomes more and more digitalized is just batshit crazy. New technologies arise every day. Did you notice it, anon?
It's becoming increasingly clear that software developers are the true architects of our era. In the past, the greatest empires built their weapons, structures, and castles with bricks or stones. But today, you see an ethereal empire built on the internet.
Every device you use has at least a bit of electronics, all powered by code. If you're a software developer, you have the power to create value from nothing.
Sure. This power is abstract, but it is immensely potent.
But let me explain with a real example.
Consider building a house. If you need to change parts of it mid-construction, you'd have to tear it down and start over, the costs and time spent would be insurmountable. In contrast, rebuilding is quick and cost-effective when developing a program, especially in the prototyping or MVP phase.
The Invisible Power
There are places where we can see even more directly the power of what I’ve been pondering on until now, even though at first glance it might be so indirect that it might not be noticed by the uninitiated.
Let me give you an example.
Consider your car. Surely it’s not governed by software, right? Wrong. It's no longer a mechanical system alone. When you press the brakes, there's an 'if' statement somewhere deciding whether you actually stop. This level of control underscores the unseen influence of software developers, a power that society has yet to fully comprehend.
There are countless many more examples I could talk about.
If you're a CEO, you should think carefully about the authority you grant your CTO. A tech co-founder holds the keys to your empire.
This becomes even more evident with the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. A realm where quite literally “code is law”. Just as the ancient gods dictated the laws of physics, developers write the rules governing blockchain and cryptocurrencies in code.
Every rule above the primary system constraints on a blockchain is defined by smart contract code. Even the fundamental protocol rules were crafted by software developers.
If you can write a program, you wield immense power. Knowledge is power, and coding is knowledge.
This power becomes concerning when considering that AI models are increasingly proficient at generating, editing, and improving code. The idea of entrusting such power to systems that can be manipulated by criminals gives me the chills.
Yes, by criminals I mean the government, corrupted politicians, people without a sense of honor. The ones that are above. The people pulling the strings.
Defining our Future
As a software developer or aspiring one, you look at a life above average.
You can (and hopefully will) create great software because the world needs it. The demand is staggering. Anything can be improved with automation and technology.
It's about designing the future. Every line of code you write shapes the world in profound ways.
This isn't an exaggeration. Consider the social media platforms that dominate our daily lives. They started as simple ideas, lines of code strung together by visionary developers.
Now, they influence global politics, economics, and culture.
Developers' influence has been growing steadily and quickly since the dawn of internet and even accelerated drastically since the dotcom bubble era.
It becomes clear that developers are not just cogs in the machine, like most people are. Developers are the machine. Or rather, what powers it and keeps it alive and flourishing.
With the ability to iterate quickly, they can pivot and adapt in ways that traditional industries just cannot do or sustain.
The democratization of software development has also led to a surge in open-source projects, where the collective intelligence of the developer community is harnessed.
This is where true innovation happens. In these collaborative spaces, groundbreaking technologies emerge, often driven by passion rather than profit.
Harnessing the Power
Coding should be taught in schools, just like writing.
At its core, coding is problem-solving. It teaches you to break down problems into manageable pieces and tackle them from various angles. It builds resilience.
Most of the time, code does not compile or run on the first try. When it finally does, initial tests often fail. We constantly fix things, becoming accustomed to rejection and failure.
This process sharpens the mind, making it resilient.
Coding goes beyond being simply a technical skill. It’s also a philosophical one.
It forces you to confront the nature of reality, to deconstruct and reconstruct it through logic and creativity.
This is why coding should be taught early, to instill a mindset of critical thinking and resilience. It teaches you to face failure head-on, to iterate and improve. Until you succeed.
This is a life skill, a mindset that breeds innovation and perseverance.
Programmers do not give up. There is always a way to solve a problem. We always find a way. This is the true essence of being a software developer.
You hold the power to change the world. What will you create?