Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
1–10 of 150 posts
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#2This is my reaction to the recent tweet by the Replit CEO, where he said that learning to code will be a waste of time.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#3I wonder how much the success of AI coding tools hinges on having a decent learning set?
Because if a lot, I predict that as more published code is generated, we will find ourselves locked in a certain point in history in terms of versions of dependencies.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#4I wonder how much the success of AI coding tools hinges on having a decent learning set? Because if a lot, I predict that as more published code is generated, we will find ourselves locked in a certain point in history in terms of versions of dependencies.
To me this is just like maths ... At school we learnt addition subtraction multiplication and division... Then we did it with a calculator... Same thing here ... Except the calculator needs much more compute and ram ... So the thing is we need to learn what is right before we can use these tools....
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#5Using LLMs to write code is a waste. If its rote code or boilerplate it sucks at writing it consistently.
If its novel code, it's not in its training set.
What LLMs don't suck as much is writing semi readable docs and commit messages.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#6If you spend time on places that attract newbie programmers (some subreddits focused on game dev or game engines, for example) you’ll see the outcome of “I no longer think you should learn to code.” And it’s not pretty.
Many, many posts of people looking for help fixing AI-generated code because the AI got it wrong and they have no idea what the code even does. Much of the time the problem is simply an invented method name that doesn’t exist, a problem that is trivially solved by the error message and documentation. But they say they’ve spent several days or whatever going back and forth with the AI trying to fix it.
It’s almost a little sad. If they just take the time to actually learn what they’re doing they’ll be able to accomplish so much more.
Now of course people learning the traditional way have these same problems, but they’re debugging code they wrote, not gobbledygook from an AI. It’s also easier to explain the solution to them because they wrote the code, so it tends to be simpler. Several times I’ve pitied someone asking for help with AI code and even when I explained the solution they still didn’t understand it, and I had to just give up on them - I’m not getting paid to help them.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#7This is my reaction to the recent tweet by the Replit CEO, where he said that learning to code will be a waste of time.
[deleted]
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#8For a cynical take, 10, 15 years ago this headline would have been "Learn to code, ignore Stack Overflow, then use SO to code even better".
In this context, AI is just one of many resources you can use - books, websites, SO, etc - to improve your coding. The big differentiator is that you can have a realtime conversation with AI, whereas when talking to other people - be it on SO, IRC, Github, forums etc - you may or may not get a response and it may or may not be helpful. AI tools are a bit more predictable that way.
I'm of the opinion that AI will not replace developers but will be another tool in their arsenal. And part of the skillset of (some) developers will be working with an AI tool effectively. I don't have that yet, but then, I don't know much about Docker / K8S, cloud providers, low level memory management, pure functional coding, Rust, graphics programming etc etc either.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#9The rise of tools like Cursor reminds me of the Industrial Revolution in France. When machines first appeared in factories, unskilled workers who didn’t understand how they operated often got injured - sometimes quite literally losing fingers. But for skilled craftsmen, these machines became force multipliers, dramatically increasing productivity and improving overall living standards.
The same applies to software development. If you lack the fundamentals - how memory, I/O, networking, and databases work - you’re at risk of building something fragile that will break under real-world conditions. But for those who understand the moving parts, tools like Cursor supercharge efficiency, allowing them to focus on high-level problem-solving rather than boilerplate coding.
Technology evolves, but the need for deep knowledge remains. Those who invest in learning the craft will always have the advantage.
Re: Learn to code, ignore AI, then use AI to code even better
#10This is my reaction to the recent tweet by the Replit CEO, where he said that learning to code will be a waste of time.
That is obviously just something he has to say, to pitch his AI company, but I reckon it is BS.
Since AGI does not seem around the corner, coders will be required as ever.
But I would not ignore AI to learn to code. Its great for asking endles stupid beginner questions. And yeah, some answers will be wrong, but my human tutors also taught me some very wrong concepts. But some coding without any help, is likely beneficial for learning.