Speculation surrounding AI has reached an all-time high, with many proclaiming the end of this profession or that industry. And the fear surrounding such speculation only grows the more the media covers it. Could chatbot and image-generating software really spell the end of your industry or mine? In this article, we’re going to discuss whether or not AI could take over web development and put all current and future web developers out of a job. If you’re interested, consider reading a previous article I wrote that answered the question: Can AI make a website? You can read that article by clicking here.
Before diving in, let me reiterate some points that I had made from that previous article. Those being, that I have tried to my hardest to write this article with a cool-headed rational mind so as to be as objective and impartial as possible. Also, that I am a human and this article was written entirely by own faculties without the aid of AI of any kind. With that being said, let’s dive in.
Industry Overview
Before we answer the question of whether or not AI will take over web development, we first need to understand the current state of the web development industry and how we got to be where we are now.
Humble Beginnings
Back in the very beginning, only those who knew how to code were able to make a website. These websites were simple, and would look completely ghastly by today’s standards. That being as it may, these websites (though primitive and unattractive) got the job done. And with advances in technology, websites were not only able to become beautified, but also gain many positive features such as interactivity and dynamicism. The rise of the programming language PHP, gave birth to blogs, forums, Wikipedia, and even (love it or hate it) Facebook. While PHP allowed websites to have databases and render website content dynamically, JavaScript (another programming language) allowed the user to interact with the web page and make surfing the web more of an experience.
However, one fact still remained, that if you wanted a website, you either had to learn how to code or hire a developer. All of that was about to change with the introduction of WordPress.
Rise of the Website Builders
WordPress undeniably changed the scene of web development, because now anyone (in theory) could make a website without learning how to code. With it’s pre-built plugins and themes, anyone could conquer the web and imprint their stamp on it’s digital frontier.
Although WordPress made it possible to build a website without coding knowledge, it certainly didn’t reduce the knowledge and time necessary to both make and maintain a website to zero. After all, there may be thousands of different plugins to choose from, but which ones are the good ones? How often do they need to be updated? What happens if you download a plugin that is discovered later to be compromised with malicious code? Which design theme should you use to best complement your business? What happens if you want to change something down the road? This is all on you to find out. Undoubtedly, most people didn’t want to be bothered to deal with all this, which is why they instead opted to hire people to make their WordPress sites for them.
Due to WordPress’s technical requirements for the user, it was only a matter of time before other website builders (such as Squarespace and Wix to name two) would hit the scene, attracting consumers with it’s easy-to-use interface and clever marketing. However, just like with WordPress, these new website builders still haven’t eliminated the need for users to learn their platform, which (big surprise) is why a lot of people will opt to hire people to make their Squarespace or Wix sites for them. They still also haven’t eliminated the need for experienced professionals, for these platforms have limits to what users can do.
Up to now, we’ve covered the history of web development all up until about November 2022, because that’s when ChatGPT debuted.
Where AI Stands Now
As the writing of this article, AI, or more specifically ChatGPT, isn’t being incorporated into website building platforms like the ones mentioned above. Additionally, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, hasn’t made their own website building platform. ChatGPT APIs have just started to come into existence, but only those with technical knowledge will be able to use it. Although things may drastically change in the future, how it stands right now is that only web developers with coding knowledge will able to use ChatGPT or any AI for that matter to make any kind of website.
Recap
Before we move on and answer whether or not AI will take over web development, let’s briefly recap what we’ve gone over so far. In the beginning only web developers could make websites, then anyone willing to learn a platform could as well.
Let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Have these website building platforms eliminated web developers? No, they haven’t; there are approximately 2.3 million web developers worldwide. Have they made making a website so easy that even a caveman could do it? Once again, no, they haven’t; users still need to invest their time to learn their platforms. Have they produced websites of higher quality than those made by professional web developers? Unless the developer in question is inexperienced, then no, they haven’t. Have they at the very least reduced the cost a consumer needs to pay for a website to be made? Much surprisingly, not always. Only by choosing the DIY route can an argument be made that costs have been reduced, after all; time is money. Additionally, hiring someone to make a website using WordPress, Squarespace, etc., may in some cases actually end up costing the consumer the same or even more than hiring a professional web developer.
So, what conclusions are we left with? Well, we can see that website builders have neither eliminated web developers, nor produced websites of higher quality. They also have in only certain cases substantially reduced the time/investment/headache that goes into making a website. The only thing that can be said with a firm degree of definitiveness, is that website builders have created a sub-field within the web development industry, where those without coding knowledge can make a living making websites.
Now, time to answer the big question: Will AI solve these problems and completely dominate the web development industry? Let’s move on this article’s final section below.
Speculation on the Future
Up to this point, everything that I’ve written is either a history recap or conclusions drawn based on that history. And while I hate to use the word speculation, it’s the most appropriate word for the job because it’s impossible for me or nobody to know what the future will hold. Thus, this section will contain my personal speculation, but it’s speculation that is trying to get as close to the truth as it possibly can.
What Probably Won’t Happen
Much like how website builders haven’t replaced web developers, I don’t see AI reducing the need for experienced professionals for this or any given field. Why? Simple; we’re always going to need people who know what they’re doing to take the lead in both new and legacy projects.
Sure, while it’s true that one can theoretically use AI to build and deploy a website in 5 minutes, what’s the point if it’s not exactly what the customer ordered? The development process needs to be handled carefully, with plenty of time devoted to understanding the customers’ unique needs and parameters. It can’t be reduced to brandishing a party trick that only delivers cookie-cutter quality. And that’s what a lot of the hype around AI is at this point, a trick. A trick that shocks and amazes when confined to new projects of a micro scale, but completely falls apart in a macro, complex ecosystem. You can’t take a website responsible for running a customer’s business, automate it’s development process, and then expect high quality results. It just can’t happen.
Similarly, I also don’t think that AI will ever advance to the point where the user will be able to get the website that they want without having to learn some kind of intermediary platform. Moreover, as it stands right now, only web developers are able to utilize ChatGPT’s generated code and deploy it to the Internet.
I also don’t think that code-generating AI will lead to a new generation of website builders. This is because website builders already have their proprietary code, as well as an easy enough platform that anyone willing to spend the time can learn, so what problems would AI be able to solve? Not to mention that having a platform where AI generates unique code for each user would be impossible to manage and troubleshoot. There’s a reason why website builders only have a definite amount of options or themes, and it’s because it makes updates and maintenance realistically possible. The only way it could work is if it generated code from an approved set list, which would be entirely inefficient. It’s much better to just present the options to the user, and let them choose what they want. And no, I don’t think that AI managing itself and debugging it’s own code is the solution either.
What May Happen
While I don’t believe that AI will replace web developers, I do believe that companies that employ developers will have to double down on whom they hire, taking greater care to vet out the true talent. This is because new and upcoming web developers may become too overly-reliant on code-generating AI, and as a result, stunt their growth.
Another thing that I think may happen, is just like how non-developers can use website builders to make a living making websites, a new generation of non-developers will emerge, whom after learning a few tricks, will try and sell their “services”. They may brandish themselves off as “AI consultants” or some other catchy name, make a few bucks, but will ultimately fail once the need to actually know how a website is made catches up to them.
Lastly, I do think it’s possible that website builders may try and integrate AI as a virtual assistant rather than a code-generating function into their platforms. They may try and integrate AI or ChatGPT into their existing proprietary service, or perhaps develop their own proprietary AI. However, this is just a maybe, because as it stands right now, AI is expensive to run due to it’s extreme resource intensity, and also requires a large data set in order to do even relatively simple tasks. Companies may initially decide to invest in such a project due to being pulled into the current AI wave, but may decide later on to abandon such projects if it’s determined that they’re not monetarily advantageous.
The Bottom Line
To summarize, I don’t think that AI will replace web developers, but will simply rock the boat for a short time while everyone tries to gain their bearings. I also think that AI will provide some benefits; mainly as a tool to help automate tedious tasks for professionals, but much like website builders, won’t solve a sweeping set of problems.
AI is certainly causing a stir in everyone’s industry, and it’s reasonable to be a little fearful when facing a future where our livelihoods are potentially on the line. But so long as we try our best to be dedicated, honest, and valuable workers, then we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
No matter what kind of new technology that comes our way, we at Random Forest Web will never falter in our integrity to you as our valued customer. We will always try our best to provide the most practical and cost-effective solution to your business, and never take the human out of the equation. If you’d like to learn more about how we can best serve you, please feel free to drop us a line using any of the links below. And as always, thank you for reading.
