LLMs Make Software Nearly Free

Software is expensive because developers are expensive. They are skilled translators—they translate human language into computer language and vice-versa. LLMs have proven themselves to be remarkably efficient at this and will drive the cost of creating software to zero. What happens when software no longer has to make money? We will experience a Cambrian explosion of software, the same way we did with content. Vogue wasn’t replaced by another fashion media company, it was replaced by 10,000 influencers. Salesforce will not be replaced by another monolithic CRM. It will be replaced by a constellation of things that dynamically serve the same intent and pain points. Software companies will be replaced the same way media companies were, giving rise to a new set of platforms that control distribution. SaaS, ARR, magic numbers—these are all shorthand to understand the old model of business building in software, one where the expense associated with creating software was a moat. The invisible hand has been stayed in software for a long time, but LLMs will usher in its swift, familiar corrective force. Majoring in computer science today will be like majoring in journalism in the late 90’s.

The image shows a text passage arguing that large language models will reduce software creation costs to nearly zero. It predicts a Cambrian explosion of software, with traditional software companies replaced by many specialized tools and distribution platforms, and compares studying computer science today to studying journalism in the late 1990s. The passage is shared as a provocative reaction to AI-driven disruption and pessimism about software careers.

• @gentoomemes / 11597 2024-05-31