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AI and the Rise of Illiterate Programmers: Dependency vs. Independence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the programming landscape, leading many to question whether it is fostering a new generation of illiterate programmers. The ease and efficiency of AI-powered coding assistants, such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, are undeniable.
But at what cost? As developers, we must be mindful of how our reliance on AI affects our fundamental programming skills, problem-solving abilities, and long-term growth.
The Problem: AI is Making Us Dependent
Recently, there was a major outage of ChatGPT, causing widespread panic among developers. Many programmers suddenly found themselves unable to code, revealing just how dependent they had become on AI assistance. This raises a crucial question: Have we, as developers, lost our ability to solve problems independently?
Programming has traditionally required emotional resilience — the ability to tackle errors, debug issues, and persist through frustration. However, AI has allowed many to offload this struggle to a machine that delivers answers instantly. While this is convenient, it robs programmers of the learning process that builds real expertise.
