https://scitechdaily.com/rise-of-the-machines-deepmind-alphacode-ais-strong-showing-in-programming-competitions/

AlphaCode – a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) system for
developing computer code developed by DeepMind – can achieve
average human-level performance in solving programming
contests, researchers report.

The development of an AI-assisted coding platform capable
of creating coding programs in response to a high-level
description of the problem the code needs to solve could
significantly impact programmers’ productivity; it could
even change the culture of programming by shifting human
work to formulating problems for the AI to solve.

.. . .

Yikes ! I posted something much like this within the
past couple of week ! Call it 4th or 5th gen development
the result is much the same - you don't "program" per-se,
you simply explain the need to the "AI" and IT puts
together all the little building blocks to meet the
requirement. Even yer pointy-haired boss could, with
a lot of fix-ups, create most any kind of app or system.

Which kinda means this generation of programmers are
the LAST generation of programmers. In a few years
the underlying "AI" will be much better at translating
worded explainations into code - and the "toolbox" will
be much larger. Soon the "AI" will be able to improve
itself without any human intervention. "Lego-Ware". We've
outsmarted ourselves - kinda like blacksmiths who helped
design the early automobile parts.

No, I don't THINK said "AI"s will become sentient - but
instead something JUST as scary ... facilitators of a
world where nobody understands how/why anything works.
You live IN it, but that's about it. Won't just be
"programs" either - manufacturing tie-ins, automated
everything. A "magic" world where mere wishing rules
(to a *point*, a lack of novelty, creativity and
instructive errors nobody ever really grasps).

Utter your spells ....

And hope that giant solar flare never happens .....