Nvidias CEO has stated that we shouldnt teach children programming because AI will do all the heavy lifting for them.
While it's true that AI can be a programmer's best friend, everyone should still learn how to code, regardless of how much AI-generated code they end up using - for many reasons.
What did Nvidia's CEO say about AI and programming?
At the 2024 World Government Summit in Dubai, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated he believes there is no point in teaching people how to code because programming will be done by AI in the near future :
Our job is to create computing technology so that no one has to program. And programming languages are human. Everyone in the world is now a programmer. This is the magic of artificial intelligence.
Although AI can create working blocks of code, there are still arguments that humans do not need to learn the basics of programming if they want to create programs.
How good is AI at programming?
Before we can confirm whether Jensen's statement is true or false, we must see what motivated him to make these statements.
AI models on the Internet can help you with programming. General use models like ChatGPT can do this, but you can use a special model like CodeGPT specifically for handling programming queries.
Overall, these AI models do a great job of translating prompts into code. Its main strength, which Jensen mentioned above, is that you don't need to know programming to create code with AI. Just tell it what you want in English, copy-paste the result, and (ideally) you'll have error-free code that does what you asked.
Why is Nvidia wrong in not teaching programming to children?
Mr. Huang makes an excellent point and his claim is backed by factual evidence. However, there are many reasons to continue teaching people how to code.
1. Knowledge is still needed to check for errors in AI-generated code
AI code can usually run without errors, but it's not perfect. Learning how to code will give you the knowledge you need to refine and hone the code that AI generates, as outlined in the above introduction to CodeGPT:
So: CodeGPT can write code, but you should be careful because it doesn't always give you the best output. What you receive may be error-prone and may not follow best practices. Whenever you use CodeGPT or any other AI-powered tool to write code, first try to understand what the code does. Don't just copy and paste!
More importantly, make the code human-readable and ensure it follows basic programming principles that every programmer should know. If you blindly add AI-generated code, you risk creating a large code mess that is difficult to debug, or worse, creating vulnerabilities in your software, website, etc.
2. Programmers can apply experience to solve problems better than AI
Programmers are ultimately trying to solve a problem. Whether creating apps for themselves or for customers, they must find the best way to turn their ideas into reality using code.
As programmers gain experience creating applications, they can better visualize how a project goes from a drawing on paper to a working program. AI chatbots do not have the same level of training to be able to learn from previous projects and apply what they have learned to do a better job in the future.
3. Programmers can improve the code better to meet user needs
If you're creating a program for someone else, chances are they'll have some feedback. It's a natural part of the back-and-forth process that ensures customers get the products they want.
If humans program the application, they can take any feedback themselves and send it through to a second version, continuing this trend until the customer's wishes are met. However, if someone has difficulty with AI-generated code, the best they can do is ask the AI to make edits and hope that the AI will handle their request properly.
4. Programmers can adapt to changing technology trends faster than AI
AI models derive knowledge from existing data. That makes them really good at recreating things from what's already on the Internet but not so good at understanding the latest technologies and trends.
Programmers can always stay up to date with the latest developments in their chosen language and implement them in code. They also understand which language is best suited to which task and can change the language used when the previous language falls out of favor.
5. Programmers can respond to urgent patch requests faster than AI
Finally, if something goes wrong with the code, someone with programming knowledge is needed to fix it. In the event of a Zero-day attack, time is of the essence; The problem needs to be identified and fixed as quickly as possible.
It doesn't matter whether the code is written by humans or by AI; Both can make mistakes. However, people who understand code will have an easier time identifying and understanding the problem. A person who doesn't know how the code works won't even know what to ask the AI to do.
Jensen Huang's statement is not necessarily wrong. AI allows people who have never programmed before to create and use code. However, if someone wants to create something for themselves or someone else, they will need basic programming knowledge to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently.