My obituary for programming

Blog · Watch/Read · (gathered 2026-10-21)

• Simon Willison’s “obituary for programming” highlights Jeremy Scheff’s argument that coding agents (LLMs) are causing a significant loss for career programmers who enjoyed the intellectual puzzle of developing code.
• Scheff notes that programming was once a highly valued role where individuals were paid to solve complex logic puzzles, defining strategy and possibilities because “regular people just couldn’t do it.”
• The rise of LLMs creates a divergence: while those who thrive on building systems regardless of the problem solved may see LLMs as a “gift,” programmers whose enjoyment came from directly solving those intricate problems face a “very real” loss of job satisfaction.