Will programming become automated?

Question

AI is no longer science fiction. Thanks to technologies like machine learning and neural networks machines are becoming better at being human like. Because of this a lot of jobs are at stake. What about programming? Is it possible that machines will replace programmers in the near future? Or will future software be self improving such that no updates will be required?

Answer 1

[Edited! accuracy issue explained last]

Not so long ago, wooden shoe makers threw them in machines to break them because "the machines were taking their jobs". The shoes were called "sabots" and is the origin of "sabotage". Today, I can buy shoes made by thousands of manufacturers and the issues have shifted to other concerns.

So, no. Naively, these improvements automate all the career 'factory work' and leave the true artisans that no machine can copy.
Everyone else is free to go do something else that ... really, they'd probably love more.

Less naive version: Money complicates things for humans. AI's shouldn't care, but humans write AI's and recently, I read that some AI's were trying to code. Hmm...

Edit: I usually check sources but I was so confident in the story I didn't this time. I still like the story despite the rebuttal:
http://www.word-detective.com/2014/07/sabotage/

Answer 2

Awesome answer. Most of us find meaning in the work we do. Following the trends in AI most careers don't seem safe. I mean if you can replace a Doctor with a bot and a driver with a self driving car it begs the question is there any job that is safe?