Don't just learn to program, learn computational thinking - Reflection from the birth of Chat-GPT and Generative AI

 For the past weeks, there has been an explosive trend on the Internet and the developer communities worldwide that Chat-GPT will replace many jobs, including software engineers, in the near future. However, I would say that Chat-GPT or a model like Codex won’t replace your job, but another software engineer who uses these modern tools will. It is not just a battle between humans and the one who can work with AI and technology, generally better on average.

 People always say that learning how to program is vital for your study and future career. I would say that is true to some extent. If you learn it right from the fundamental level of programming and problem-solving, not the syntax itself. Some people always regard which programming language to learn or which framework to get started. Still, you can easily find out that these generative AI models could learn even faster than you do from the perspective of using API or learning syntax in general.

 Therefore, we should shift the mindset from the old school of syntax-based learning how to program to the new era of learning how to solve programming problems or even computers in general. The fundamental of programming still remains vital for software engineers, but it would not be the only focus for us. Instead, these powerful AI tools will supercharge our productivity in the short and long run.

 Don't just be a coder or software engineer, be a creator, builder, and designer of the future. This is the era of people who can find a good problem and solve it with speed and engineering integrity. Work with AI, and build a new product or service faster, better, and cheaper than ever before. There are tons of problems out there that can only be solved by the engineer of the future who works with AI and serves humanity.