My personality is absolutely not a great fit for coding. I do not have the patience and if I get error messages because I forget a ‘,’ somewhere, it drives me mad. However, Generative AI tools have been great to learn and debug coding. I had some basic experience with Javascript but I never used Python before. So when I needed to rewrite Javascript in Python, I used Google Gemini to help me do it. It was a great tool to use and if I did not understand something, it would give me examples and explanations. After this, I was able to quickly learn the basics of Python and increase my coding skills.
Currently, I use it often when I have to code something or debug code. Although it does not always work greatly, it usually brings me in the right direction and gives me tips to improve my coding techniques. Sometimes, when it gets a bit more complicated with different frameworks and APIs, the AI makes mistakes. In those cases, it is unfortunate that it not just tells me that it is not able to solve it but gives a random imaginary coding sample that is useless. In those rare cases, it takes actually more time to use AI tools compared to not using them.
Before, I needed to search the internet for the specific use cases and errors I was facing when something went wrong. And if I could not find it, I had to use Stackoverflow to help me out. However, waiting for an answer takes time and in the meantime, I could not make any progress. AI makes that progress much faster and is able to give personalized responses.
In conclusion, I believe that AI has made coding much easier and even helps people who, like me, do not have the patience to find tiny little mistakes.
Hi Jordy,
I also agree and share your opinion that artificial intelligence (AI) is a useful tool for people who are just starting to code. I personally believe that AI tools such as ChatGPT can save you significant amounts of time, especially when you are a novice in the coding world. Furthermore, not only for programming but AI tools can also be a tremendous help when using different statistical tools. To reflect a bit on my own experience, three days ago, I did not know anything about R. Although I went through the book and obtained significant knowledge on the basics of R, I often find error messages when trying to produce an output where I would end up spending a lot of time just to solve and debug these errors. With the assistance of ChatGPT, I am able to save a considerable amount of time on debugging and finding errors. Before ChatGPT, it was still possible to receive help from Google. However, this would take much more time because you would have to look for the specific error that relates to your situation, with the chance of finding none. In my opinion, AI tools make it possible to invest and use your time much more efficiently by assisting or completely taking over certain monotonous tasks such as debugging errors.
It’s really interesting to hear your thoughts on AI’s role in coding. From my experience of using GenAI in data analysis with Python, I completely agree: AI can be incredibly useful for handling specific tasks, but there’s still a clear need for developers who can think about the bigger picture. The strategic thinking and creativity that go into that process are far beyond what AI can, currently, do.
Another common point we share is that AI is definitely helpful, but a foundational understanding is still necessary. Without a basic knowledge of coding or the problem you’re trying to solve, relying solely on AI can feel like navigating in the dark. It’s great that AI tools are making technical tasks more approachable, but having that core understanding is what allows developers to effectively use these tools and ultimately make sense of what they’re building.