My Response to TJ DeVries on AI and “Is it Still Worth it to Learn to Code”

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's perspective on the impact of AI on coding tasks and the skills required for software engineers. The author argues that the way we do computation is fundamentally shifting, and the problem-solving skills traditionally associated with coding may become less valuable, while skills like question-asking and fuzzy thinking become more important.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The author's perspective on AI and coding tasks

1. What is the author's view on the claim that AI will do coding tasks as well or better than junior engineers in the next five years?

• The author argues that this claim is moot, as the way we do computation is fundamentally shifting towards neural networks, symbolic AI, and agentic LLMs, which create massive CSV files with comma-separated weight values. The problem is solved, and how the AI solved it in the black box doesn't matter.

2. What is the author's view on the claim that coding helps you learn to problem-solve and think?

• The author argues that studying math, philosophy, and physics (the underlying foundation) will teach you how to problem-solve even better from the fundamentals. Moreover, the author believes that "question-asking" will have a higher relevance than "problem-solving" in the future.

3. What is the author's view on the importance of soft skills for software engineers?

• The author argues that learning to code doesn't help with soft skills, and that black-and-white thinking can leak into an engineer's life. However, learning to prompt models, question data, and use fuzzy logic can help with soft skills and "grey thinking".

[02] The author's overall perspective

1. What is the author's main point regarding why learning to code is pointless in 2024?

• The author argues that the points made by TJ (the person the author was responding to) actually support the idea that learning to code is pointless in 2024, as the way we do computation is fundamentally shifting, and skills like question-asking and fuzzy thinking will become more important than traditional problem-solving skills associated with coding.

2. How does the author characterize TJ's perspective on the topic?

• The author suggests that TJ is "secretly an AI apologist" and that his rants about "code copiers" are a projection of his frustrating experiences with junior engineers in the past.