Veteran Developer: AI is the Next Evolution, Not a Replacement, Key to Advancement

Drawing on a professional career spanning back to 1994, veteran software developer Steph, known for his Studio Web platform, emphasizes that the most crucial lesson for professionals is to consistently embrace technological change. He illustrates this with historical shifts, recalling early resistance to frameworks like React from developers accustomed to jQuery or vanilla JavaScript, who were eventually outpaced by those who adapted. Today, in late 2025, Steph identifies Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the next significant evolution. Crucially, he asserts that AI is not a replacement for fundamental programming languages such as JavaScript, C#, Java, or PHP, but rather an augmentation that fundamentally alters and enhances the development process.

This ongoing technological evolution, from the early days of Perl CGI for web applications to modern frameworks, consistently accelerates development cycles and unlocks new capabilities; tasks that once required weeks now take mere minutes. Steph highlights that AI is not only speeding up traditional development but also creating entirely new application verticals, exemplified by his AI-first fitness coach. He posits that developers who proactively integrate AI into their workflows are already gaining a substantial competitive advantage, affirming that AI represents the “next tool set” in development, driving increased productivity, fostering job creation, and stimulating innovation within the industry.