A Budding Developer’s Perspective` discusses the rise of software-driven automation in various aspects of society and economy, including finance. Robo-advisors are becoming increasingly popular due to a loss of trust in financial institutions, economic pressure of fees, and the desire for lower costs and faster trading. These automated services use APIs to gather data, process information, and execute trades more quickly and accurately than human traders. Automation allows investors to reduce their reliance on human brokers, eliminate emotional trading, and gain a competitive edge through algorithmic systems. However, safety concerns exist with robo-advisors, but they are regulated by FINRA and the SEC, providing a level of trustworthiness. The author highlights Alpaca as an example of a firm offering API-driven investment services with minimal fees and no GUI.