Actually LanX, perhaps this would be the future programming paradigm, assuming AI takes off. Blitzprogramming. Throw everything you got at the problem. I can even imagine the AI creating multiple threads to accomplish the same task via different approaches and whoever returns back wins. An exaggeration for the case at hand though ...

And perhaps software maintanability's role in the future will be diminshed: Specs change? Then create another program. It's true the brain and Nature, in general, don't waste resources like this unless there is good benefit. They tend to reuse and adapt (but also cannibalise unfit specimens). But then that's the Nature of a finite planet. In a digital planet, perhaps it would be cheaper to scrap previous projects.

Testing's role will be pivotal. It may be called "Spec Conformance". Wow, I can't imagine my life without my daily fix of Programming. And fish is scarce today in this forsaken basin.

5min edit: perhaps another paradigm will be Specs and Programs *evolve* together, there would be no need for converting photos...

Anyway, thanks to Aldebaran++ for yet another food-for-thought post.

I think the paradigm of reusable components /modules will stay.

No matter how cheap something is produced you'll still want to maximize the ROI.

A plastic cup might be much cheaper than a wooden cup, but only if it's mass produced. This requires an investment.

You won't easily throw a component away after the effort to show that it's bug free.

So maintainability will still be an issue.

My 2 cents.

Update

Additionally, a big part of my last job was to translate the fuzzy requirements of my clients into programmed tools which fit their internal processes.

Imagine an AI spitting out new tools on a daily basis. Do you also expect the users and processes to adapt on a daily basis?

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language :)
see Wikisyntax for the Monastery}

yes, thanks for your 2 cents. In the AI future there will be some constants, surely. But most things will adapt to the AI. I mean who irons their shirts still? "bug free" i guess is such a constant, but perhaps it will not be that expensive anymore. Also, a big question is whether there will be one AI (entity) or many? I mean ownership of components by one entity or many entities competing. Either there will be a lot of standardisation of specs and recycling of components or there will be Hell. If they are trained with M$'s board meetings transcripts then all points to Hell hehe

My son is a software developer at a university and he says there's a big shift in focus toward learning how to effectively utilize chat bots to increase productivity.