15. The programmer as a grandmaster playing five boards at once (2026-10-15)
With AI, programmers no longer compile programs by hand or hammer the command line. Instead they switch between windows, watching four or five AI projects at once — checking results, issuing orders, correcting course.
It’s like chess champion Carlsen playing five masters simultaneously: you’re no longer the one placing the pieces; you’re the one reading the board.
Human value is shifting from “building it with my own hands” to “judging whether it’s built right and pointed the right way.” Placing the pieces can be outsourced; reading the board cannot.