Let’s talk about the elephant in the room—or, should I say, the AI in the code editor.
Recently, NVIDIA’s big cheese, Jensen Huang, made waves with his take on the future of coding at the World Government Summit in Dubai. His hot take? In the face of AI’s rise, maybe kids shouldn’t learn to code. Instead, they should focus on fields where humans still have the upper hand, like biology or even farming.
Now, before we all trade in our keyboards for tractors or start majoring in photosynthesis, let’s take a step back to evaluate the potential impact of AI properly. Things have been blown way out of proportion.
AI and Coding: Friends or Foes?
First, let’s get straight: AI is pretty smart. It can whip up a piece of code and debug faster than you can say “syntax error,”. What AI can do is remarkable; it is already saving developers time. It already has this remarkable ability to scaffold code for you.
But here’s the kicker: AI, for all its tricks, still can’t grasp the big picture. It might give you a piece of code that looks good on paper but lacks the nuance of understanding project complexities, dependencies, or why that one line of code is more poetry than prose. That’s where the human touch comes in—because sometimes, you need to read between the lines (of code).
We are still not at the point where AI can even contextually understand an entire codebase. While you could argue many devs don’t either, after working with a codebase for a while, you tend to learn over time where everything is. AI is getting better at context, but it’s still limited and probably will continue to be limited until they can get the cost down.
Imagine you’re trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube that changes colour every two seconds. That’s what coding is like—solving puzzles that don’t play fair. AI can spot patterns and follow rules, but when it comes to out-of-the-box thinking or genuine eureka moments, it’s still sitting in the audience, not performing on stage.
What Jensen Really Meant
Now, back to Jensen and his leather jacket wisdom. Perhaps what he’s getting at isn’t that coding is going extinct but rather that the landscape is changing. It’s not about coding less; it’s about thinking more—leveraging AI to do the heavy lifting so we can focus on the problems that need a human touch. Think of it as upgrading from a bicycle to a motorcycle. Sure, it’s faster and does some of the work for you, but you still need to know how to ride it.
Remember when calculators first hit the scene, and everyone thought math teachers were done for? Spoiler alert: math is still around, and so are math teachers. The same goes for computers. They didn’t replace jobs; they made new ones. And let’s face it, they also made binge-watching a thing (blessing or curse? You decide).
AI: The Ultimate Sidekick
So, is AI going to replace coders? Nah. It’s more like Batman and Robin. Sure, Batman gets the spotlight, but Robin’s got his back, making the dynamic duo unbeatable. AI is here to take the grunt work off our plates, leaving us free to tackle the bigger, badder problems. And who knows? With AI as our sidekick, maybe we’ll all find a bit more time to rock those leather jackets that Jensen loves to wear.
Wrapping Up: The Future Is Collaborative
In the grand scheme of things, coding isn’t going anywhere. It’s just getting a facelift. AI is the new tool in our kit, not a replacement worker. As we move forward, it’s all about collaboration—humans and AI working together to create, innovate, and maybe save the world a little.
So, don’t hang up your coding hat just yet. Instead, maybe consider adding a leather jacket to your wardrobe. If Jensen’s right about one thing, the future of coding will be one stylish ride. And who knows? Maybe leather jackets will become the new coder uniform. If that’s the case, sign me up!
