The expansion of ChatGPT has been impressive, with a whopping 1 million users in just five days after launch. The rapid growth of AI technologies has caused concerns that they might soon replace human jobs. Indeed, is it a good time to get a career in tech, if we have ChatGPT writing code?
This article explores how AI technologies such as ChatGPT can help increase efficiency and accuracy, and speed up the development process while highlighting their limitations and risks. We will also discuss the possible future of ChatGPT in the workplace and whether it’s a good idea to start a tech career now.
What is ChatGPT?
СhatGPT is a large language model based on the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) architecture. It is designed to understand and generate natural language in response to human input. ChatGPT has been trained on a massive dataset, allowing it to understand a wide range of topics and contexts and generate coherent responses.
With the help of ChatGPT, people can find answers to almost any question, write texts, emails, cover letters, create stories, and many more. Many software companies have integrated ChatGPT into their applications to automate things like data gathering, analysis, translation, speech-to-text recognition, writing, and refactoring code, etc.
Is it a good time to start a career in tech?
An intriguing report issued by OpenAI (the company that owns ChatGPT) has stated that although the model has progressed in GRE and SAT exams, it sufficiently underperformed in competitive programming and English Literature. ChatGPT has attempted 10 programming contests 100 times each but could not consistently find solutions to complex programs.
AI technologies will make even more industries become tech-dependent, and this will stimulate the demand growth of tech specialists. The World Economic Forum predicts that developing AI technologies will lead to extra 2.6 million tech job openings. For example, quality assurance engineers are predicted to rise in demand with ChatGPT going mainstream, read our article about it!
As AI development grows, there will be a stable demand for professionals with the most up-to-date skills and knowledge. We discussed future trends during our live stream with software engineers. “Software engineers are going to assume more architectural and higher-level roles and less code monkey type roles,” says Deliah.
Why are human resources irreplaceable?
There are certain skills that AI can cover with efficiency, speed, and accuracy, like finding information, translating, and proofreading. AI can be a helping hand in many processes, including code writing, but it doesn’t mean that an AI itself can create complex usable software.
AI reflects the data that it has been taught. This means it will lack context understanding. Everything beyond the input and access doesn’t exist for AI models. Dependence on data quality is very high. The AI system may produce incorrect results if the data is incomplete, biased, or inaccurate (which is not a rare case).
AI can be trained to perform specific tasks but will struggle with complex tasks requiring multiple steps or decision points. For example, ChatGPT is perfect for handling small scripts and methods but cannot manage an entire software platform or app.
Even though machines are really good at evaluating data, it is not able to think critically. It cannot multiply, for example. ChatGPT is very straightforward and suggests the shortest but not always the smartest (or at least viable) solution. It can generate code, but you need an experienced human to adjust it and build an existing structure.
Besides writing code, software engineers ensure the stability, functionality, and security of all processes, as companies cannot afford a developer’s error to cause a breakdown. A professional software engineer has many skills that an AI cannot replace, and problem-solving is one of them. When you need to come up with a new approach or invent something, you need a human.
So yes, the tech industry will still need humans to think strategically and logically, apply problem-solving skills and create connections and patterns that an AI simply can’t see.
How can you benefit from ChatGPT technologies?
AI technologies automate processes that would take time for people to manage. The market of apps and add-ons based on the ChatGPT API is growing fast, and some can help you perform better in your tech job. Here are some useful tools based on GPT that can help in your studies and work in tech:
The most well-known service is GitHub Copilot - powered by GPT-3. This service has been trained on billions of code lines, including GitHub depositories, and helps with coding in 12 languages: JavaScript, Go, Perl, PHP, Ruby/Swift/TypeScript, and others. If ChatGPT can help complete newbies with coding, Copilot is a service for those who already understand what they are doing and just need some acceleration to their skills. “It's super easy because it autocompletes, and it kind of just knows what code you're writing. I think it’s a little more developed than chat GPT in its current state,” says Deliah.
AI is likely to revolutionize the field of software engineering in the upcoming years and make it more efficient. However, even with its many features, AI can only be a co-pilot, and you will certainly be the captain. Learn software engineering and other in-demand IT professions with TripleTen bootcamps and secure a rewarding future.