{
  "id": 16172061,
  "title": "We Were Never Asked to Write Code. We Were Asked to Solve Problems.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/we-were-never-asked-to-write-code-we-were-asked-to-solve-problems",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T09:48:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "HackerNoon",
    "slug": "hackernoon",
    "url": "https://hackernoon.com/we-were-never-asked-to-write-code-we-were-asked-to-solve-problems?source=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2000, the author, Richard Forss, was working at Deutsche Bank on a new trading platform while watching friends leave for startups. The author felt envious of their success, but the financial crash soon showed that the promised riches were not materializing. The author credits the current mood to a recurring pattern in the industry, with \"Artificial intelligence\" being a marketing term coined in the 1950s by scientists seeking military funding. The hype around AI leads to inflated expectations and eventual disappointment, as funding inevitably leaves when reality sets in.\n\nThe author draws a parallel between the AI hype cycle and their own experience at Deutsche Bank. While deep learning made significant strides at the ImageNet competition in 2012, the author emphasizes that the gap between real capability and honest expectation remains. They caution against overselling and the inevitable \"AI winters\" that follow the hype.\n\nIn the healthcare sector, the author highlights Geoffrey Hinton's mistaken prediction that radiologists would be obsolete within five years due to deep learning. The author argues that instead of replacing human professionals, the tools have accelerated demand for their services. Despite the availability of agentic coding assistants in 2025, the author points out that engineers remain essential, as the technology still requires human oversight to differentiate between plausible and correct answers, particularly in critical situations.\n\nThe author concludes by emphasizing that the purpose of hiring engineers has always been to solve problems, not just to write code. The story serves as a reminder that the real value lies in addressing real-world challenges, regardless of the technology used.",
  "summary": "EXANTE CTO Richard Forss draws on the dot-com crash and AI breakthroughs to explain why AI will help engineers solve bigger problems, not replace them.",
  "key_points": [
    "Author worked at Deutsche Bank on trading platform in 2000",
    "AI hype leads to inflated expectations and eventual disappointment",
    "Engineers essential, not just for writing code"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}