{"id":555128,"date":"2026-03-21T14:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555128\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:47:13","slug":"thank-you-for-getting-us-to-this-point-i-thought-sam-altmans-tweet-about-coders-was-nice-then-i-read-it-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555128\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThank you for getting us to this point\u201d \u2014 I thought Sam Altman\u2019s tweet about coders was nice \u2014 then I read it again"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first glance, Sam Altman\u2019s latest tweet<\/a> reads like a simple thank you. Then you notice the wording and it starts to feel like something else.<\/p>\n

See what you think:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have so much gratitude to people who wrote extremely complex software character-by-character. It already feels difficult to remember how much effort it really took.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thank you for getting us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

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Phrases like \u201cGetting us to this point\u201d and “already feels difficult” sound harmless enough, but there\u2019s an unsettling way to read it: that this point is the moment where writing software character-by-character is no longer necessary. That the era those developers<\/a> helped build is now giving way to something else entirely.<\/p>\n

I have so much gratitude to people who wrote extremely complex software character-by-character. It already feels difficult to remember how much effort it really took.Thank you for getting us to this point.March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Altman likely meant it as a genuine note of appreciation. But like many statements about AI right now, it carries implications that stretch far beyond its surface meaning.<\/p>\n

This is the same CEO who has spoken about a future where intelligence becomes a utility that you buy like electricity, and where the cost of training AI systems is weighed alongside the cost of training humans.<\/p>\n

The direction of travel is clear, and the messaging sometimes feels more casual than the consequences.<\/p>\n

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The canary in the coal mine <\/p>\n

Coders are very much the canary in the coal mine when it comes to AI. Not because their jobs are simple, but because they are structured and logical \u2014 in short, it’s the sort of thing that AI can do very well.<\/p>\n

I was actually set up for a career in coding myself \u2014 I did Computer Science at University and did a year placement working as a coder. However, that year was enough to convince me it wasn\u2019t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I gave up what was at the time considered a \u2018safe bet\u2019 and eventually found my way into tech journalism.<\/p>\n

These days learning to code no longer seems like a way into a safe career<\/a> because AI is able to generate complex, reliable code from simple text prompts, or even take existing code and improve it.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

A warning shot<\/p>\n

It feels like we\u2019re at the edge of a transition with coders right now. I\u2019m left wondering what profession is next? We\u2019ve already seen AI coming for artists, writers and designers.<\/p>\n

Thanks to its agentic capacity, AI is already threatening more professions, from web designers to booking assistants<\/a>, and pretty much anything that involves decision making.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with thanking the people who built the systems driving this change, but at the same time, there\u2019s no acknowledgement that those people are being replaced by AI.<\/p>\n

Altman\u2019s tweet might genuinely be a thank you, but it also feels like a marker. We\u2019ve crossed into a new phase, whether everyone is ready for it or not.<\/p>\n

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