alt Hacker NewsAgreed.
We should also consider whether the rise of AI for any type of implementation task will reduce the number of new Emacs and Vim users, thereby limiting and ultimately killing the communities' growth.
I came to Vim, and then Emacs, because I wanted a tool for coding that I could configure exactly how I liked. If AI does my coding for me, my need for a custom editor will decrease. More generally speaking, if AI can do any type of implementation task -- coding, task management, email, etc -- my need for software customized for those things will decrease.
If people don't need custom software, many fewer people may seek out and find Emacs and Vim.
Who will maintain them and evangelize once today's generation cannot?
If implementation of anything is easy, far fewer people would be needed to keep the projects alive.
AI is okay at doing simple things, but it needs to be overseen. Even before any viable AI, I used to read code more than to write. And Emacs is a good tool for that.
Then, Emacs specifically has a killer app, Org mode. For me, it's about as important as good programming modes, if not more
More importantly, Emacs is a platform (as is Neovim, and VS Code). It adjusts to the needs of the user and the moment.