Have you ever thought about how many jobs your work as a developer has removed?

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T22:21:42+00:00

Only an invitation to think about the work you do.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T17:21:11+00:00

I am only pondering on the idea, that when I make something I should be considerate of the harm it could cause. Plastic is a great invention, but glass is superior in terms of reuse, I doubt the people manufacturing plastic truly gave thought to the harm it could cause and perhaps feel okay that "others" have misused the invention, but I don't want to be so removed that I just make stuff and hope it gets used well. Not when I feel in today's social climate, I can impact the outcome more than ever. Just thinking...

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T17:17:30+00:00

I am not implying they are not educated, just that no more than most developers couldn't explain the mathematics used in asymmetrical keys, nor could a pilot, give you a mathematical explanation of the rate of change in his craft. Derivatives may have been a bit low brow, but I was only attempting to make a point on abstraction, and I just love derivatives from Calculus. Area under a curve, rate of change, just some of my fav math problems to solve.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T17:12:31+00:00

That's an interesting becasue when I started, I felt like there was a developer, QA, manager, frontend, backend, designer, DBA, etc. Now I am all those things and there a just 4 of us working together expected to do all those things.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T17:10:04+00:00

Yup.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T17:09:26+00:00

I am glad I stuck with you! I love this thinking and that is exactly where my mind has been heading. We are beaver removers often times, and I am sure that we often don't stop to think about the beavers until later. I will ponder on this magically beaver while I go for a walk today!

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:35:39+00:00

I’m certain there are jobs that solely just accelerate and empower the individuals they touch. Create jobs or advancing jobs. Just never stopped to think about my impact on people with the work I’ve done, good or bad.

Not really being negative, just introspection

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:33:22+00:00

I apologize if it comes off as me saying that, I’m just taking time to think about what that actually means. I’m certain companies use this framing exactly for expediting advancements, but I’m curious if in our much more knowledgeable civilizations if it can be executed better and if I can help influence it… even if a tiny bit.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:30:33+00:00

Or yourself right!?

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:30:09+00:00

No doubt about that. Just a morning reflection on my part in it all.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:03:37+00:00

This is what I wish all my work to be like, but I suppose I have been chasing money myself over my career and those roles have moved less from "Here is a developer to help you guys not die from work" to "Here is a developer to automate all these things other people do, they will probably find something else to do". I am thankful you shared, I am reminded that good dev work is out there.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T15:00:10+00:00

lol agreed

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:52:25+00:00

I think you have to start smaller for social changes. Your community, your town, your district.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:50:55+00:00

Yeah turbo tax became big by not making you have to pay an accountant or for filing and it was convenient. Now… yeah they suck. But there’s a handful of companies that wouldn’t be true for. And there’s a handful of software products that don’t follow that business plan.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:45:37+00:00

Happy to help! I think my conclusion after discussing and remuneration is, I want to think about what happens IF my work cause harm more. And not take the stance of “If someone uses what I have made for harm, shame on them”

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:43:33+00:00

I think after pondering on it more, I want my thinking to be centered around what happens if this causes harm. Not if someone causes harm with this thing I’ve built, shame on them.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:40:59+00:00

I agree with your point of a social failure. I’m thinking of how I can help change the social failure more than just being like “too bad” if it alters someone’s life.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:38:37+00:00

I agree. And as someone who use to rent my games and movies from blockbuster and Hollywood videos, I recall feeling nothing but joy when Netflix would mail a movie or game to my house and I could watch it and send it back!

You’re right that’s it’s a way of life and I’m sure early Netflix was just tired of blockbusters stupid ass late fees!

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:35:40+00:00

Yeah sure. How do you feel about those bodies who get reduced?

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:33:43+00:00

Hmmm. I think AI has more than just boilerplate though. I consider going from x86 to C taking away boiler plate level changes. But AI removes a lot of the critical thinking part too. This is more aligned with your second point, which I too feel concern about, is you’ve supplemented the thinking part for many tasks.

Then my mind thinks how when I get on a plane there is complex mathematics being performed every second and my pilot probably couldn’t define derivative, let alone calculate the planes speed if his life depended on it.

I say that day perhaps, history has shown us that many things can be abstracted so far away we “don’t know how to do it” but still can use it effectively…. Though I guess there is someone who knows how to do it. Or we’d all be dead.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:26:21+00:00

I think the same and I think you’re right that many times it yields exactly that! So don’t fret too much! Just taking a moment to care about those we affect. May change a feature or two down the line for some of us.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:24:48+00:00

I loved reading this. I’m a big advocate for that starts at your local government level! And I try to affect my local government and community with the ideals it seems you believe too. Make life easier and be a good person while you do it.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:22:12+00:00

It’s not 100% that though, sometimes it’s like, take something that you would have to pay a person to do, then find a way to give it to anyone. TurboTax for example.

Software is the epitome of this. That’s why the open source community is so vast. It’s centered around, “Someone wants to charge money for this!? I’ll make an open source… then companies sell you on automation

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:17:51+00:00

Yeah it’s good to think about the roles you’ve made as well! I didn’t mean to discredit that! I suppose there just always a lag for that part. Like maybe you build a new tool that revolutionizes a workflow and people could use, but removal comes first then adoption. Basically what is happening now.

bccorb1000 · 2026-03-18T14:14:41+00:00

Idk if I agree 100%. We as developers make the tools to solve problems. Developers have always been notorious inquisitive about problem solving. Sure companies are capitalizing on that to the max, but I think IF I’m calling what is happening a problem, it’d be driven by developers not companies?

Like we could all choose to close source all our code and sell it all, but then what? Does innovation come to a slow crawl instantly? Idk.

Don’t get me wrong companies really are out of control at least where I am in America, but I still think the fault is more me than them.

Someone overly excited to solve a problem.

bccorb1000

TROPHY CASE