Technology Transforms Work, Doesn't Eliminate It

D. Richard Hipp reflects on how technological innovation reshapes professions. Decades ago, specialized COBOL programmers wrote code to query large datasets — expensive work requiring deep expertise. SQL's introduction simplified this process, allowing straightforward specifications and reducing demand for costly COBOL programmers. Yet programmers did not vanish. They adapted. Hipp's observation captures a recurring pattern: professions evolve alongside new tools rather than disappearing.