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Yes, and... programming still matters in the age of AI, with Carson Gross

3/12/2026 • 38 min

Carson Gross, computer science professor at Montana State and creator of htmx, joins the show to cut through the noise around AI and programming. He explains why the jump from high-level languages to LLMs is fundamentally different from past transitions, why junior developers who skip writing code risk being at the mercy of a stochastic system, and why systems architecture and managing code complexity are the skills that will matter most. A grounded, rational take on the future of software development jobs. Links Resources Yes,and...: https://htmx.org/essays/yes-and/ We want to hear from you! How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend? Fill out our listener survey! https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Elizabeth, at elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com, or tweet at us at PodRocketPod. Check out our newsletter! https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/ Follow us. Get free stickers. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form, and we’ll send you free PodRocket stickers! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today. Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Carson Gross and the "Yes, And…" Blog Post 01:45 Why Carson Felt Compelled to Write About AI and Coding 03:30 The Assembly-to-High-Level Analogy — and Why It Falls Apart 06:00 Juniors Must Write Code to Be Able to Read Code 08:15 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Trap 10:30 Could AI Actually Increase Demand for Programmers? 12:45 Why "SaaS Is Dead" Is Shortsighted 15:00 Systems Architecture as the High-Value Skill Going Forward 17:30 Essential vs Accidental Complexity — The No Silver Bullet Framework 20:00 How LLMs Break the Natural Feedback Loop of Bad Code 23:00 Will AI Change How We Think About Testing? 26:30 Abstraction, Paradigms, and Human-Readable Code 29:00 How Much Has AI Actually Boosted Carson's Own Productivity? 32:00 The Mental Health Cost of the AI Hype Cycle 35:30 Final Thoughts — Give Yourself (and Others) a Break Special Guest: Carson Gross.

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