Startups are Already Utilizing GPT-4 to Reduce Human Coder Expenses

Image capture of the OpenAI webpage

Many people have recently discovered the impressive coding skills of GPT-4, which was unveiled by OpenAI last week. This latest edition of the large language model that powers ChatGPT has demonstrated the ability to create games like Pong and even develop basic apps when given prompts in everyday language. This development has caused concern among some computer science students and software developers who fear that their professional roles could eventually become obsolete thanks to the rise of AI.

Actually, there's a really popular post circulating on r/ProgrammerHumor, with almost 40,000 upvotes, called "The Ultimate Time to Be a Computer Science Student." This post features a meme of a worried-looking Squidward with the OpenAI logo in the background. The caption reads, "This is how I sleep as a CS student watching the rapid advancement of technology that will inevitably replace me soon."

According to scientists and developers in the field of computer science, although AI may take over some entry-level development roles, rather than replacing them completely, GPT-4 is more likely to augment productivity by serving as a valuable tool for developers.

According to David Joyner, who holds the position of Executive Director of Online Education and Online Master of Computer Science at Georgia Tech, GPT and comparable models are like calculators in Mathematics, but for coding. As per Joyner's viewpoint, these models simplify coding the same way calculators make performing mathematical operations easier.

Joyner shared that ever since GPT was introduced, it has been of great help to him in accomplishing both scripting and writing tasks efficiently. However, he still has to apply his skills and knowledge to complete the whole process. He mentioned that not much of his expertise has been made redundant by GPT, but it only requires him to direct it towards a more specific aspect of the problem.

According to his statement, ChatGPT will have significant impacts on product development by enhancing productivity and reducing costs associated with creating an actual functional product.

Joe Perkins, who started a company to create helpful tools for venture capitalists called Landscape, posted a message on Twitter that quickly gained traction. He shared that he put GPT-4 to use to write the code for several micro services for a new product. A skilled developer had quoted a price of 5,000 pounds and estimated two weeks to complete the work. However, GPT-4 wrote the same code in just three hours and for a mere eleven cents. It truly is an unbelievable feat.

He also mentioned that it not only generated the scripts but also gave clear guidelines on how to install and operate it on @Replit. There were certain codes that were unclear to him so he requested to add notes on the crucial sections of the code. The process was straightforward and effortless.

According to Motherboard, Perkins is a computer science graduate who admitted that he possesses a certain level of technical skills to comprehend code. Nevertheless, he confessed that he lacks proficiency in programming, leading him to face difficulty with efficiency. Thus, GPT-4 proved to be a significant help in his work. Perkins added that he is still in collaboration with the developer mentioned in the tweet. He shared that the use of GPT-4 enabled the developer to reduce their workload by two days, thereby saving Perkins some money.

Perkins stated that it's unlikely for Google engineers to rely on OpenAI for their code deployment utilized by billions of people. Nevertheless, as an early-stage startup, product innovation and efficiency is crucial with limited resources. Using GTP-4 assists in streamlining tasks and reducing costs as it enables Perkins to work on tickets and pass them on to developers to integrate with minimum time consumption and without recruiting extra staff.

According to Perkins, GPT-4 is expected to revolutionize the field of education by providing assistance in writing, testing, and explaining code to users. This feature will particularly benefit individuals with little to no technical expertise, who will be able to easily learn and explore the coding world.

Joyner expressed his enthusiasm for GPT's potential to offer tailored tutoring for such topics. Although a few pupils may intend to simply extract the answer and adopt it, Joyner expects that most students will utilize the tool to comprehend the answer. Joyner envisions an era of self-directed education, spurred by the use of advanced technologies.

Joyner stated that coding was already more accessible than various professions since individuals could teach themselves easily through online tutorials. However, with the introduction of GPT-4, it would further increase the accessibility of coding.

According to Perkins, one of his acquaintances - who is not proficient in technical knowledge but collaborates with coders - created a chrome extension in just 15 minutes. This extension enables users to translate highlighted text on a given webpage into various languages.

Perkins shared that he had a conversation with someone the previous evening. During their discussion, the person mentioned having numerous ideas for projects they wanted to bring to life through coding. However, in the past, they were unable to afford a developer or find the time to learn coding themselves. Perkins believes that the platform he is referring to, without a doubt, makes coding much more accessible to the general public.

Amjad Masad, who is the head of Replit, an online platform that facilitates collaborative coding, shared with Motherboard in the past that Artificial Intelligence-based coding will revolutionize this skill by making it simpler to learn and driving a rapid increase in productivity. Similar to Perkins and Joyner, Masad believes that GPT models will act as a resource for individuals who already possess some coding knowledge.

In the end, AI in its current form will not take the place of all software developers. However, it will affect the demand for coders and the cost of their services. It will also change the quantity and accessibility of software products being created. People will be compelled to improve their abilities in working alongside AI. This includes acquiring knowledge in prompt engineering, which involves effectively utilizing language models.

Joyner mentioned that the idea of Midjourney taking over painters or GPT-4 taking over novelists revolves around the belief that the end result is the only thing that matters. However, humans do not just paint, write, or compose music for the sake of what they create. They do it because the process of creating itself is deeply meaningful to them. It is possible that AI can be trained to do any task humans can do just as well or even better. However, substituting the final product does not replace the gratification derived from the creative process.

Joyner believes that the principles behind GPT and other AI technologies are widely available to everyone. As a result, he believes that software engineering will continue to be in demand even as AI becomes more prevalent. While AI is good at coding, the actual skills of software engineering are crucial for individuals and organizations to be able to enter and thrive in fields that are increasingly dominated by AI.

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