The first programs were written in binary/hexadecimal, and only later did we invent coding languages to convert between human readable code and binary machine code.
So why can’t we just do the same thing in reverse? I hear a lot about devices from audio streaming to footware rendered useless by abandonware. Couldn’t a very smart person (or AI) just take the existing program and turn it into code?
It’s not impossible. It’s being done all the time. It’s just tedious complicated work. So if you don’t have someone willing to invest their time and expertise it won’t be done for most stuff.