After my recent post about using AI to program Siemens PLC programs, many asked me if it can replace programmers. No is the simple answer.
“Programming will remain a 100% human profession even 100 years from now.” – Bill Gates, 2025
That’s how he put it in early this year in an interview with France Inter, underscoring that AI, which can already handle simple tasks, still can’t match human reasoning, creativity, or judgment needed for complex coding.
Maybe 100 years is a long time, but he made it clear that:
* AI can manage routine or boilerplate code and debugging but
* Human programmers are still indispensable for bringing innovative problem-solving and creativity which AI is yet to master.
Writing code goes beyond the commands; it involves understanding complex challenges and crafting tailor-made solutions which may not be easily correlated.
In other words, AI is a powerful assistant but doesn’t replace the role of a professional programmer.
