In an era of AI-assisted coding, existing barriers for creating applications have dropped drastically. There was certainly a divide between "users" and "developers" previously. Now it's possible to create entire applications in seconds with a simple prompt or reference image.
I think that this is a good development for several reasons:
-
The inertia required to turn one's ideas into reality has dropped to near zero. Previously, if one had an idea, one might have pursued it for a couple days or weeks but when difficulties arose the project would have been abandoned. The same can still occur, but the amount of initial progress that can be made is much more encouraging. I think that this will encourage people to continue developing their ideas until a v0 state.
-
If one wanted to work on side projects, previously it would have taken an enormous amount of time outside of one's day jobs. But now with the ability to quickly iterate, it's possible to test out ideas quickly in the spare time after work.
-
More people will be able to develop projects. This means that there is the opportunity for more people in other domains to test and refine without requiring initial developer assistance. This democratizes access to technology.
-
The rise of personal software means that it's extremely easy to create mini apps for oneself to use. There doesn't need to be a pressure to monetize everything.