35 years ago, I wrote my first program. In FORTRAN. Not on a computer, but on paper. Because I didn’t have access to one.

From there, I moved through BASIC, C, C++, Java, R, Python, …

It was a journey of logic, errors, and the thrill of seeing code finally run.
Many who started that journey with me went on to become industry leaders.

🤖 Today, a New Kind of Programmer Has Arrived

One who doesn’t write code line by line…
But simply prompts:

🗣 “Give me the code for…”. And AI does the rest.
And this isn’t some fringe experiment.

It’s the new norm:
🔹 30% of Google’s code is now AI-generated: Sundar Pichai
🔹 4,500 developer years saved using AI: Amazon
🔹 20–30% of Microsoft’s code is written by AI: Satya Nadella

Clearly, we’re not just building software differently. We’re redefining what it means to be a programmer.

💡 What Does This Mean for the Future of Coding?

As AI becomes better at writing code, the questions get louder:

🧑‍💻 Is coding still a skill worth learning?

🎓 Is Computer Science still a future-proof career?

🧒 Should we still teach coding to our kids?

Let’s step back—and zoom out.

🧠 When Technology Evolves, So Do We

📚 Did printing kill conversation? No. It sparked books, podcasts, TED Talks, and audiobooks.

🧮 Did calculators kill math? No. They made math accessible—from classrooms to street markets.

✍️ Did spell and grammar check end writing? No. It helped more people express themselves with confidence.

🎨 Did cameras replace painting? No. They gave birth to new art forms and visual storytelling.

🎵 Did digital music end musicianship? Not at all. It unleashed creativity from bedrooms to Billboard charts.

🔑 New tools don’t erase skills. They unlock new possibilities.

🎼 The Future Coder

Yes, AI will handle the repetitive lines of code.

But the human mind—capable of insight, creativity, and design—remains irreplaceable.

As NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang says:

“Programming AI is like programming a human being.”

You’re not just coding anymore. You’re composing, orchestrating, directing outcomes.

Like a film director guiding a talented cast. You bring the vision, and AI helps bring it to life.

👣 A Personal Note

When I first learned FORTRAN, I failed the exam. My first major academic failure.

If GenAI had existed back then, maybe I wouldn’t have feared code so much.

But that failure taught me something no AI ever could:

🧠 How to think, how to persist, how to solve.

🎯 So, Should We Still Teach Coding?

Absolutely. But differently.

Teach it as a language of logic.

A way to frame problems, design solutions, and collaborate with machines.

Not just to type code.

But to think clearly in a world full of intelligent tools.

Because while the tools will keep changing…

The ability to think? That will always be our greatest superpower.