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Is teaching kids to code still valuable in a world where Artificial Intelligence is changing the landscape of software development? The short answer is: absolutely. I may be biased as the founder of theCoderSchool, but we absolutely believe it here. Here’s why teaching kids to code remains crucial, even as AI transforms this and every other industry.
In the future, the ability to use technology will be just as important as understanding how it works. Coding isn’t just about typing commands; it’s about understanding how computers think and function, so users can logically put together the necessary technical pieces to make something work.
For example, how does AI work? It uses data modeling along with machine learning to create an LLM which... is all very confusing, right? AI isn't magic, it's just (lots of) lines of code. While non-coders have a hard time understanding how data modeling might relate to machine learning (or what they even mean), advanced coders with the technical and logical experience are better equipped to understand how a new technology like AI works under the covers.
Think of it this way. We've had calculators for decades – but does that mean kids don't need to learn math? We've had the internet for many years – but does that mean kids don't need to learn geography or history? These are the tools of those subject matters, but kids still must fundamentally understand the subject matter to use the tools effectively. Remember how your 9th grade teacher would always say "Show your work!"? That's what learning to code is, it's showing your work.
At theCoderSchool, we feel that learning to code is about the process, not the result. The process in this case means a fundamental understanding of how the code works. It's not just “coding a game” – it's “how does the code make the game work”? That's why we focus on the logic of the code itself, not just the end product – so our students have a technical foundation to understand and use whatever comes in the future, whether it's AI, quantum computing, or something else entirely.
Coding is, at its core, about solving problems. It involves breaking down a complex challenge into smaller, manageable steps, just like solving a puzzle. This kind of logical thinking encourages creativity, flexibility, and resilience—all skills that will be indispensable in any future workplace, whether technical or not.
Imagine you're tasked with finding ways to cut costs at your company – a complex challenge. The first step might be to break that into smaller pieces – shipping costs, production costs, labor costs, etc. Then, break down each piece further – labor costs becomes management costs, marketing costs, and so on. This is also how coding works – to build a game like Flappy Bird, you break it down into pipes, birds, and scoring, working on each until you create the larger, complex product. Practicing how to break complex problems into manageable pieces is a crucial skill for all students, in any industry.
At theCoderSchool, our goal is to reiterate and practice problem-solving. We don't mind if code fails because that's when a student really needs to use their problem-solving skills to debug the issue. While AI might be able to debug a program faster, it's a shortcut, and doesn't contribute to the learning process (so we don't use it). It's the process of building and debugging the code, and therefore understanding it, that's much more important. Anyone can ask chatGPT to build a Flappy Bird game – but only coders can go through the problem-solving steps to recreate it themselves.
There may be a bit of media hyperbole out there. It may seem like all you have to do is type “build me the program I want” into chatGPT and out pops a finished product. Give that to your boss, and you're done for the year, right?
But AI can't read minds. What program do you want? Is it a website or billing software? Let's say you instead said, “build me the website I want.” Is it an e-commerce site or is it a social media site? You get the picture. AI can't read minds, and as the person in the equation, it's up to you to describe exactly what you want in great detail.
Have you ever tried writing a long article with AI? I used AI for this article. But AI never gets it completely right, does it? It takes iteration after iteration, and it takes massaging and edits by the human to get it just the way you want it. And it takes some know-how of how to write an article to do those edits. Now, yes, AI helps generate work much faster – but it's never complete, and a human needs to complete it. For this article, I probably generated about 50% but had to write the remaining 50% to get across what I really wanted.
Coding works the same way. AI is a great productivity tool, but it will only get you so far. A coder needs to understand the AI output and take it the rest of the way. That's what makes AI great – it helps a human produce something faster. But it can't do it all. That's what makes coding essential for the future – coders will still be needed to use AI to build the technology of the future.
AI is the future, and so is technology – there's no disputing that. But AI still needs to evolve and grow, and AI depends on code. To say that our future generation doesn't need to code is saying we don't need human intervention in how our society's future develops (kinda crazy, right?).
The latest generations of AI themselves require coders. New technology like EV and self-driving cars, or quantum computing requires coders. AI can create code for distinct pieces of functionality – but coders will still need to put it together, and human intervention is needed to provide guidance. While using AI to code may be an evolution from how a coder might build these technologies today, it's still coding – just a more advanced kind that uses AI as a helper.
In addition, by teaching kids to code, we’re giving them the versatility to excel in future careers that may not even exist yet. While some jobs in software development may evolve, many new roles will emerge in the age of AI. From AI ethics specialists to developers who train and refine AI algorithms, the landscape of tech jobs is shifting but far from disappearing and, in fact, likely to be growing.
And while tech jobs may ebb and flow like any industry, those with coding experience who understand tech better will always have a leg up on those jobs. Whether it's in management, marketing, or software, I'd prefer to hire those who understand and can help evolve the most productive technologies like AI. Wouldn't you?
AI makes coding more efficient and productive, and, undoubtedly, will do so even more in the future. Does that mean a company would need fewer coders on a particular team? Perhaps. But will there be less coding jobs in the market as a result? I say no.
Imagine you are the CEO of a company. You need to build 100 widgets, and before AI, that took 10 coders. Then, say with AI, each coder is twice as productive, meaning you only need 5 coders to build those same 100 widgets. As CEO, would you rather 1) fire 5 coders so you reduce costs and keep making 100 widgets? Or, 2) keep your costs at 10 coders, but build 200 widgets instead thus making twice the revenue?
I get it, that's a simplified example. But productivity means to produce more, not to use less resources to produce the same amount. Increased productivity isn't a reason to reduce the workforce. It's a reason to expand and be a more productive society overall. And it’s also a reason I believe there will be more tech jobs than ever in the future.
Remember the Disney movie Wall-E from the late 2000's? The movie imagines a future where AI has replaced humans for all tasks. No longer needing to work, people become fat slobs, sitting in chairs moved around by a computer and simply asking computers to do tasks for them. Without a need to develop skills, they all become lazy homogenous blobs staring at a screen all day without a care in the world (wait, my kids are doing that already...). It's an ideal utopia where humans don't need to lift a finger. But is it really?
There’s a great plot line from another Disney movie, The Incredibles, where the villain Syndrome tries to sell his super-weapons to the entire world so mere mortals can be powerful superheroes. Everyone wants to be powerful, but what happens when everyone is powerful? As the best line of the movie goes, “When everyone is super, no one will be.”
Ok, enough of the Disney references, but there’s an underlying lesson in both movies. If everyone simply relies on the power of AI, then does the human race become homogenous? Do we all become the same? Is no one super? I would wager that the human spirit won't allow it. Someone will always try to make better AI. Someone will use AI to invent something. Someone will build something that competes with AI itself. It's how humans are wired, and it's why AI can never completely take over human tasks. And it's why, IMHO, those with coding skills will be better positioned to differentiate themselves from those without.
When I founded this company over 10 years ago, I knew that technology would evolve, and coding would change with it. But I've always believed that teaching kids to think logically would never change because that's the basis of all technology. It's not about completing the project but rather thinking through it and understanding it. Understand it, and you can build it. As the legendary Steve Jobs once said, “Everyone should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” Amen.
So carry on, I say. Keep on coding and keep working on those logical skills. It may well be what sets you apart from the rest, even in the future of AI. Like we've always said at theCoderSchool, Learn to Code. Change the World.®
