Generative AI is a game-changer. We all know that, but for some entrepreneurially-minded individuals, it might not only improve productivity but enable things previously beyond reach. As an example, let’s talk about people who don’t know how to code but want to build apps or create other IT solutions. For example, my father still cannot believe, how this technology allows people to turn purely verbal ideas into functioning software without any coding skills. Personally, I’ve always thought you have to have a few years of coding experience, or be a BIM student :), to create a mobile app, but it turns out that GenAI can do miracles in this area.
The most exciting part of this is the low-code/no-code development potential. Platforms like Bubble let you build apps completely visually or using a text prompt. That way you can go from idea to execution in seconds, rather than weeks of code learning. On top of that, GenAI can suggest code snippets, fix bugs, or even optimize your app for performance.
So what’s essentially going on is that GenAI is lowering the entry barriers to the app development market. It’s democratizing software development in a way we haven’t seen before. This will likely lead to a decrease in the compensation of professional app developers, as more competition enters the market. However, such a shift towards a more competitive market usually brings substantial collective benefits to market participants. In this case, especially, I think that most of the retrieved DWL will be allocated to the consumer surplus. We might observe it in more consumers having access to a wider variety of better-tailored apps.
Fortunately (for professional app devs), as with other AI tools, it seems like GenAI will remain as an assistant at lower complexity levels. Most complex websites need not only the skill but the initiative and creativity of experienced developers, which is unlikely to be substituted soon. However, even if that happens, I hope that it’ll only elevate the whole industry to an even higher level. I can almost visualise a single experienced app developer managing a bunch of AI bots developing a ground-breaking metaverse app in his garage in a few decades.
Sources:
[1] Bubble. (n.d.). Create an AI-Generated website in under a minute | Bubble. https://bubble.io/ai-website-generator
